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Adidas Eyewear “Barely There” 3D Printed 3D CMPT Sunglasses

08.05.21 | By
Adidas Eyewear “Barely There” 3D Printed 3D CMPT Sunglasses

Sportswear brand adidas’s investment in the realm of material science has resulted in some of the most exciting and innovative products over the last few years, most notably in the exploration of the reuse of recycled oceanic plastic waste and also utilizing 3D printing and robotics to realize novel footwear. Similarly the brand has recently announced the development of new methods to manufacture sports eyewear using 3D printing, resulting in extremely lightweight, yet durable adidas 3D CMPT sunglasses fit for professional and consumer athletes seeking a “barely there” fit.

Athletes wearing sunglasses not only expect sunglasses to provide eye protection and enhanced vision, but also a secure fit. For this, adidas has outfitted the 3D CMPT with non-slip contact points on the nose pads and end tips giving the frame an extremely comfortable fit for active purposes.

In collaboration with Marcolin Group, adidas Eyewear’s 3D CMPT comes forth as a fascinating form – 3D-printed sunglasses made using a flexible nylon structure treated with a special coating that creates a rubberized effect across the entire spiraling textured surface. The structural design is evocative of the brand’s 3D-printed textile midsole emphasizing flexibility; here a lightweight lattice structure is used to form eyewear frames with an equally lightweight and breathable design.

Spun into a singular one-piece frame, the 3D CMPT weighs a mere 20 grams, with an integrated spherical mirrored lens shield.

Noting this is the brand’s first effort, we wholly expect adidas to follow up with future iterations of different forms, fit, and function within the eyewear category as they’ve done with footwear. The 3D CMPT sunglasses will be a limited release, available exclusively at adidas.com during Creative Club Week for Club Members starting August 23rd, 2021 for $415 in Brown/Mirror Silver.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.