Berlin Retailer Solebox Brings Zellerfeld’s 3D-Printed Shoe Experience In-Store

Zellerfeld is bringing its 3D-printed footwear experience in-store with a brand-new partnership with Berlin-based sneaker and streetwear retailer Solebox.

According to the German footwear company, this collaboration introduces an entirely new in-store experience at Solebox’s Berlin flagship, where customers can explore, engage with, and order fully 3D-printed, custom fit footwear.

With this activation, Solebox becomes the first premium retailer in the world to fully integrate Zellerfeld’s scan-to-print system into its retail environment. Customers can now experience a series of live visual displays that show the transformation of digital files into real footwear, making visible what is typically hidden in manufacturing.

The display includes printed examples of internal structures that replace traditional foams, stitching, and overlays. It explains how comfort, support, and fit are engineered directly into the shoe during printing, using just one material and one seamless process, Zellerfeld noted.

But at the heart of the experience is a professional foot scanning station, open to all customers. This scanner captures a full three-dimensional map of each foot, allowing Zellerfeld to create a digital fit profile. The data enables each shoe to be tailored to the individual’s exact shape and structure, including variations between left and right feet.

Once scanned, customers can select from a curated offering of Zellerfeld designs, each available to order in store. The selected shoe will be produced to match the customer’s unique foot data using Zellerfeld’s on-demand printing system. Each pair is then printed to order and shipped directly to the customer’s home.

As part of the store experience, Solebox has removed its iconic robotic Solebot and replaced it with a conceptual display representing a printer farm. This installation reflects a shift from the legacy logistics of retrieving stored goods toward a future focused on just-in-time creation. The store itself now mirrors Zellerfeld’s philosophy: “products are not stored in backrooms, they are created when needed.”

“We have spent years building a marketplace that redefines how footwear is made, from the inside out,” Cornelius Schmitt, co-founder and chief executive officer of Zellerfeld, said in a statement. “With lots of traction for our shoes online, I’m excited about the partnership with Solebox that allows people to feel printed shoes. They will feel how 3D printing will bring a new level of comfort when they try them on. A big step towards getting printed shoes on every foot!”

Aljoscha Kondratiew, CEO of Solebox, added that his store has “always existed at the edge of what comes next.”

“With Zellerfeld, we are now offering our community something they have never experienced before,” Kondratiew said. “They can watch how shoes are made, they can feel the materials, and they can order footwear that is printed specifically for their feet. It is not just about wearing the future. It is about participating in it.”