An upper for an article of footwear may be at least partially formed with a knitted component. The knitted component may include a first knitted portion and a second knitted portion, where the first knitted portion at least partially forms at least one of a medial side, a lateral side, and a toe area of the upper, and where the second knitted portion forms a tongue area of the upper. The second knitted portion may include a first end and a second end where one of the first end is secured to the first knitted portion via a common knit structure.

An article of footwear is disclosed. The article of footwear includes an insole made of polyurethane with a thickness of at least 8 mm at its thickest point, the insole comprising an arch support designed to distribute the pressure of a foot; an outsole made of leather with an edge-to-edge rubber that is inlaid into a forepart of the outsole, and a midsole sandwiched between the insole and the outsole.

A footwear includes a footwear upper attached to a sole. The footwear upper includes at least one leather base layer having a base layer top grain surface, and at least one leather attachment layer having a top grain surface and a flesh-side surface. The leather base layer is glued to the leather attachment layer with the base layer top grain surface facing the flesh-side of the leather attachment layer.

A method of manufacturing a footwear includes the steps of providing a leather base layer and providing a leather attachment layer. The leather base layer and the leather attachment layer are fixed against each other with an intermediate application of adhesive between them. The applied adhesive is activated. The leather base layer and the leather attachment layer are forced against each other under a pressure with the adhesive between them. The adhesive is cured and thereby the leather base layer and the leather attachment layer are bonded to each other. The bonded leather base layer and the leather attachment layer are integrated as part of the footwear.

An article of footwear comprises a sole structure and an upper. The upper is connected to the sole structure to form an enclosure to at least partially receive a foot. The upper comprises a first panel, a second panel, a backing panel and fibers. The first panel and the second panel at least partially form the enclosure. The backing panel is located within the enclosure along surfaces of the first and second panels. The fibers extend from the backing panel and are mechanically embedded in the first and second panels so that at least some of the fibers are partially disposed outside the enclosure.

Various articles, such as footwear, apparel, athletic equipment, watchbands, and the like, and methods of forming those articles are presented. The articles are generally formed, in whole or in part, using rapid manufacturing techniques, such as laser sintering, stereolithography, solid deposition modeling, and the like. The use of rapid manufacturing allows for relatively economical and time efficient manufacture of customized articles. Portions of the articles may be manufactured using rapid manufacturing and those portions may be joined with portions formed using conventional, non-rapid manufacturing techniques. The methods may also include performing a scan of an appropriate body part of a user, such as a foot, in order to create a customized article of footwear for the user.

An upper for an article of footwear is configured to be connected to a sole structure and is configured to receive a foot. The upper includes a knitted component having a strobel portion that is configured to be disposed underneath the foot. The strobel portion defines an interior surface and an exterior surface of the knitted component. The strobel portion defines a strobel passage between the interior surface and the exterior surface. Also, the upper includes a tensile strand that extends through the strobel passage.

An article of footwear comprises a sole structure and an upper. The upper is connected to the sole structure to form an enclosure to at least partially receive a foot. The upper comprises a first panel forming a first portion of the upper and having a first texture, a second panel forming a second portion of the upper and having a second texture, and an embroidery area extending across portions of the first panel and the second panel and having an appearance that replicates the first texture extending into the second texture.

The invention is a high heel shoe with an upper that will provide comfort and flexibility for the wearer. In a preferred embodiment the upper consists of two at least two materials: 1) a firm fabric, such as leather, that will hold the shape of the design and have limited flexibility; 2) a flat knitted elastic, such as knit elastic, which will not narrow, or not narrow significantly, when stretched. In addition, the firm fabric is configured to have a flex-point and in a preferred embodiment is formed of two pieces of the firm material having a “split” between them providing the desired flex-point.

Footwear for covering a foot of a wearer includes an outsole configured for supporting the foot of the wearer, an upper secured to the outsole and configured for covering the foot of the wearer, an insole located above the outsole within the upper, a midsole located above the outsole and below the insole and first and second laterally adjacent shanks located above the outsole and below the insole. The first shank angles forward and outward from the heel portion to a lateral side of the middle portion and the second shank angles forward and outward from the heel portion to a medial side of the middle portion to form an acute angle therebetween and provide balance and torsional stability for sides of the wearer's foot.