A sole structure for an article of footwear comprises a sole plate that has a forefoot portion with a foot-facing surface. The sole plate has at least one groove extending at least partially transversely in the foot-facing surface. The at least one groove is open when the sole structure is dorsiflexed in a first portion of a flexion range, and closed when the sole structure is dorsiflexed in a second portion of the flexion range that includes flex angles greater than in the first portion of the flexion range.

An article of footwear and a method of manufacturing the article of footwear are disclosed. The footwear may include an upper and a sole structure. The upper incorporates a textile element with edges that are joined together to define at least a portion of a void for receiving a foot. Various warp or weft knitting processes, including flat knitting, may be utilized to form the textile element.

An article of footwear and method of manufacturing an article of footwear comprises an upper, a sole structure adjacent the upper and a thermoplastic material sheet attached to the upper to fixedly secure one or more components to the upper or fixedly secure the upper to a sole structure where the thermoplastic material sheet provides the primary or only means for securing the components to the upper and the upper to the sole structure.

A method of making a moisture-permeable and waterproof shoe includes: forming a vamp and a bottom liner from a fabric laminate and connecting the vamp and the bottom liner to form a semi-finished shoe with seams; disposing a shoe last in a foot-receiving space provided in the semi-finished shoe; coating an outer surface of the semi-finished shoe with a resin material and curing the resin material to form a moisture-permeable and waterproof resin layer on the outer surface of the semi-finished shoe and to cover the seams; attaching a shoe sole to the bottom liner; and removing the shoe last from the receiving space.

Aspects herein are directed to a reflective textile, and articles of apparel, uppers for an article of footwear constructed therefrom, comprising a reflective material dispersed between a first and second surface of the textile in a first zone. The first zone reflects a greater amount of light than a second zone of the textile. Other aspects herein are directed to a method of manufacturing a reflective textile or article having a portion comprising a reflective textile.

A sock shoe has a single layer of base fabric having a volumetric configuration for receiving at least a forefoot portion of a user's foot. The sock shoe is configured with an upper portion for receiving a top portion of the user's foot and a bottom portion for receiving a bottom portion of the user's foot. The base fabric has a knit or woven structure that is resiliently elastic. An elastomeric coating is fused to the base fabric in a single-layer unitary structure to provide at least two of: (i) a retention function, (ii) a durability/foot protection function, (iii) a grip or anti-slip function, and (iv) an outsole function. The bottom portion having an outer-facing, ground-contacting surface and an inner-facing, foot-contacting surface, the ground-contacting surface including at least one outsole portion being formed of the fused elastomeric material, and the inner-facing, foot-contacting surface being formed of the fused elastomeric material.

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.

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.

The present disclosure provides for composite textiles that can include a coating layer that is compatible with textiles such as those comprising polyolefins. The coating layer, as well as the precursor coating layer composition, the coating mixture, or resin composition used to form the coating layer, include a mixture of a polyolefin resin and a thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV). It is believed that the use of the coating layer in the disclosed composite textiles can promote better bonding between other components or materials used in articles, such as articles of footwear or articles of clothing, while resisting or preventing creasing and bagging. This allows the use of cost-effective materials such as polyolefins in the composite textiles that have adequate physical and mechanical properties, while also having sufficient chemical bonding properties.