Nike isn’t any stranger to pushing boundaries in design and sports activities innovation. Its newest breakthrough is a one-of-a-kind 3D printed sports activities bra designed for record-breaking runner Religion Kipyegon. Greater than something, it is a image of how 3D printing is quietly, however powerfully, reshaping the way forward for personalised athletic put on.
On the core of this innovation is Nike FlyWeb, a high-performance, 3D printed materials produced from TPU (a versatile, rubber-like polymer). Developed after years of experimentation, FlyWeb was constructed to help Kipyegon’s historic Breaking4 try: her daring mission to develop into the primary lady to run a mile in underneath 4 minutes. And for that, Nike wanted greater than an ordinary sports activities bra; it wanted to reimagine the piece from the bottom up.
Kipyegon’s bespoke bra is produced from a computationally designed and 3D printed TPU materials.
3D Printing Steps Onto the Monitor
3D printing has lengthy been utilized in prototyping footwear, however that is the primary time Nike has utilized it to efficiency attire in such an vital manner. In a sportswear trade turning to additive manufacturing (AM) greater than ever, Nike is main the cost, together with different main manufacturers exploring comparable territory. From observe spikes to footwear, 3D printing is permitting these manufacturers to create customized matches, iterate quicker, and take consolation to the subsequent degree. All of those qualities are important when the distinction between successful and dropping is measured in milliseconds.
Not like conventional bras, which depend on stitched layers of cloth and elastic bands, the Nike FlyWeb bra is printed as a single, seamless construction. Designers used computational modeling to exactly management the density and airflow throughout completely different zones of the garment. The result’s a bra that’s comfortable, breathable, and extremely supportive, however so mild that Kipyegon herself mentioned, “I’ve by no means worn one thing like this in my life. I adore it.”
Religion Kipyegon’s Nike FlyWeb Bra helped her physique keep cooler throughout her all-out dash.
Constructed for Historical past
Kipyegon’s Breaking4 run occurred on June 26, 2025, in Paris. Although she didn’t break the four-minute barrier, she did set a brand new world-best time of 4:06.42, additional proving that the hole is closing and that technology-backed athletes are altering the sport.
Very similar to Nike’s earlier Breaking2 marathon venture, Breaking4 was a science-driven marketing campaign geared toward pushing human efficiency to new limits. And similar to with Eliud Kipchoge’s footwear in Breaking2, the gear Kipyegon wore performed a vital position, together with the FlyWeb Bra.
“The sports activities bra may be probably the most missed components of an athlete’s equipment,” mentioned Janett Nichol, Nike’s VP of Attire Innovation. “However whenever you’re going for a world file, it turns into mission-critical.”
Nike FlyWeb materials debuted throughout Religion Kipyegon’s historic try to interrupt the 4-minute mile.
Typical sports activities bras can maintain moisture and warmth, two elements that may sluggish an athlete down, explains the model. Nevertheless, because of its 3D printed construction, Nike’s FlyWeb materials manages moisture way more successfully and drastically reduces what researchers name the “thermal burden.” Its racerback form improves motion, whereas zones of denser materials supply exactly tuned help.
Religion Kipyegon is able to run.
A Bra Constructed for Pace—and for the Future
The FlyWeb Bra isn’t Nike’s solely 3D printing story this yr, nevertheless it’s probably the most placing. It’s a transparent instance of how the corporate is integrating rising applied sciences into merchandise that don’t simply look futuristic, however carry out like that, too.
And it’s not simply Nike. Your entire sportswear trade has taken discover of what 3D printing can supply. Manufacturers at the moment are experimenting with AM for all the pieces from shoe soles to breathable mesh uppers to completely custom-made insoles. And this comes as no shock, because the know-how guarantees decrease waste, quicker prototyping, and personalised match at scale.
However Nike’s FlyWeb Bra brings one thing new to the desk. It exhibits how 3D printing can completely change how garments really feel and work. By utilizing much less materials, eradicating seams, and letting extra air via, Nike isn’t simply making higher sports activities bras. General, it’s altering the way in which we take into consideration efficiency clothes.
Religion started testing the FlyWeb Bra this spring.
Whereas the FlyWeb Bra was made only for Kipyegon’s file try, it might result in extra makes use of sooner or later. This concentrate on athletes and new know-how is what Nike is understood for; it’s the core of its model, going all the way in which again to the Air Jordan period, when the corporate reworked a basketball shoe into a worldwide icon. Now, 3D printing seems to be able to be the subsequent large leap in how Nike creates its most revolutionary merchandise.
As Nichol explains, “This can be a true unlock, not only for bras, however for the way we design and construct high-performance attire going ahead.”
The FlyWeb Bra has already made historical past as the primary 3D printed sports activities bra Nike has ever created, and probably the primary of many extra to return. With additive manufacturing now on the coronary heart of its design course of, Nike isn’t simply altering the way in which garments are made; it’s shaping the way forward for sport.
All pictures courtesy of Nike.
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