A shoe includes a shoe sole and an upper coupled to the shoe sole. The upper has an upper body and an annular holding portion. The upper body has an opening portion for entry and removal of a wearer's foot. The annular holding portion is stretchable and configured to hold the wearer's foot. The annular holding portion is coupled to the opening portion. The opening portion has an edge that includes a first edge portion and a second edge portion. The first edge portion is located on a rear end in a longitudinal direction. The second edge portion is located forward of the first edge portion. The holding portion has a first degree of mobility relative to the first edge portion and a second degree of mobility relative to the second edge portion. The second degree of mobility is higher than the first degree of mobility.

A shoe having a shoe upper including multiple welds in selected locations on the shoe upper. The welds may be selectively located on the upper to provide structure and support to the specific portions of a shoe upper.

An upper for an article of footwear includes a first material defining a void operable to selectively receive a foot. The first material includes an outer surface. The upper also includes a first edge at least partially circumscribing the void at an uppermost extremity of the upper and a second edge disposed at a lowermost extremity of the upper. The upper further includes a first biasing member (i) disposed at the outer surface of the upper, (ii) attached to the first material, and (iii) spaced apart from the first edge and the second edge. The first biasing member is operable to exert a biasing force on the first material to bias the first edge away from the second edge.

Methods and systems are disclosed for three-dimensional printing directly onto an article of apparel. Disclosed is a method and system for direct three-dimensional printing onto an article of apparel, including positioning at least a portion of the article on a tray in a three-dimensional printing system, the portion being positioned substantially flat on the tray, printing a three-dimensional material directly onto the article using a three-dimensional pattern, curing the printed material, and removing the article from the three-dimensional printing system.

A method of forming an article of footwear can include providing an upper in a substantially flat orientation, securing a gathering string along at least a portion of a perimeter of a first surface of the upper with a securing member that is attached to the upper, positioning the upper on a last, and applying tension to the gathering string to at least partially conform the upper to a shape of the last.

A last system and a method of making the last system are disclosed. The last system includes a last member and an exterior layer. The exterior layer becomes deformable when heated above a characteristic temperature. The method can include forming a braided footwear component on the last system. The exterior layer may be joined with the braided footwear component by heating the last system above the characteristic temperature.

The invention relates to a structural multilayer composite comprising a layer of leather in contact with at least one monolayer comprising parallel aligned fibers and a matrix material. The composite may further comprise film layer(s) that may be breathable and/or waterproof. The structural multilayer composite material is suitable for use in clothing and outdoor gear and apparel.

An article of footwear comprises an upper and a sole structure secured to the upper. The upper includes a side portion that has a first material composition at an exterior surface of the side portion. The exterior surface has a first coefficient of friction. The sole structure has a second material composition at an exterior surface of the sole structure that underlies the side portion of the upper. The exterior surface of the sole structure has a second coefficient of friction. The first coefficient of friction is substantially equal to the second coefficient of friction.

An article of footwear may include an upper that has a plurality of discrete sections secured to one another. Each discrete section may include a base layer and a cover layer. Each cover layer may be secured to and may cover the outer side of a corresponding base layer. Each cover layer may be configured to be selectively removable from the base layer independently of each other cover layer to expose the outer side of the base layer. A method of manufacturing the article of footwear may include providing the plurality of base layers and providing the plurality of cover layers. The method may further include securing the cover layers to the base layers so that the cover layers cover the outer sides of the base layers.

A footwear includes an upper attached to a sole. The upper includes an outer layer and an inner membrane. The outer layer has a lower end. The lower end of the outer layer has an outer layer lower edge. The membrane includes a lower end of the membrane. The lower end of the membrane has a lower edge of the membrane. The membrane (MEM) is suspended within the footwear between an upper circumference of the upper and a lower anchoring circumference by means of an anchoring adhesive. The lower end of the membrane is stitched to the insole along a lower circumference. The upper circumference is lower than the top edge of the footwear.