A Kyiv Designer 3D-Prints Wearable Summer Sandals on a Bambu Lab H2D

From war refugee to wearable designer

Sofia Rousinovich did not grow up planning to 3D print shoes. She studied fashion design, following her mother and grandmother into garment construction. Her father added the engineering mindset. That mix showed up first in augmented reality filters for brands like Fendi and Bershka, and later in physical fabrication after the 2022 escalation in Ukraine forced her into a brief exile.

She returned to Kyiv with an old computer and a determination to teach herself 3D modeling. She saved for a Bambu Lab H2D, waited six months for it to arrive through complicated European routing, and spent the evenings studying slicer settings while the country adjusted to a new normal.

The engineering behind a supportless sandal

The sandals are printed flat. No supports. No assembly. No glue. That is not an accident. Sofia designed the geometry so the entire piece bridges and adheres directly to the bed, then flexes into shape once it cools. The upper uses a porous, fishbone-inspired structure for breathability. The sole stays dense for support.

She prints in Kexcelled K8 TPU 75A, a flexible filament that bends with the foot rather than fighting it. Local print shops in Kyiv told her the design was impossible. She proved them wrong on her own machine, then released the STL files and instructions through her Patreon and Etsy pages.

Zero waste, zero post-processing

Most 3D-printed footwear relies on dissolvable supports that end up in the trash. Sofia eliminated that step entirely. The design emerges from the printer ready to wear. That matters for home users who do not have access to industrial post-processing, and it matters for the environment.

The sandals are not a prototype. They are a product you can download, slice, and print tonight. The button-fastening system replaces laces or buckles. Variable texture across the upper gives structural support where the foot needs it and flexibility where it does not.

What comes next

Sofia sees the sandals as a proof of concept for something larger: a creative tech space in Kyiv where local makers can access advanced digital tools without gatekeeping. Her portfolio already includes spine-inspired sunglass frames, a skeleton handbag, and butterfly embellishments for swimwear. Each piece is released as a file first, a physical object second.

The footwear industry moves slowly. Most of it still relies on factory floors and overseas supply chains. A single designer with a desktop printer and a Patreon page is not going to replace that system tomorrow. But she is showing that the system does not need to be the only path from idea to product.