On July 23, 2026, footballer Cavan Sullivan stepped onto the pitch wearing adidas’ first fully 3D‑printed football boots during the MLS match between the Philadelphia Union and the New York Red Bulls, marking the first time such boots have ever been used in professional play.
It’s been more than a decade that every year, the footwear brand unveils a limited collection of 3D printed shoes that are made with Carbon DLS technology.
These shoes are produced as part of Project R.A.P. (Radical Athlete Perception), the footwear brand’s new ecosystem for producing custom 3D‑printed sports gear.
The initiative currently includes 3D‑printed football boots and 3D‑printed basketball shoes. The latter was the BB.01 Additive, a shoe that utilizes a 3D printed lattice that wraps the foot and provides a bespoke future feel to every movement. Priced at $250 a pair, it was launched publicly in a limited release last month.
According to Nolan Kim, a computational designer at adidas, previously at Carbon, said on LinkedIn that it took two years of continuous work before these shoes hit the ground.
While these 3D printed football boots have been digitally customized for Cavan Sullivan, we may expect adidas to continue creating the best for athletes, at speed.
Images’credit: Nolan Kim’s LinkedIn. credit: adidas.
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