Every IAMBIC pair begins with your data and evolves with your movement. A precise 3D scan captures the unique architecture of your feet, while our Fit Engine translates that information into a digital model measured to the millimeter. Each pair is crafted in Europe from full-grain Italian leather and refined with your Sole Print data to ensure comfort that learns from you over time.
Named a TIME Best Invention, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, and developed with Dr. Hylton Menz.
The Fit Crisis: Why Most Shoes Still Don’t Fit
Research shows that 60 to 70% of people wear shoes that do not fit properly (Buldt & Menz, 2018). This statistic is not surprising, given that the footwear industry has historically relied on standardized sizing to serve billions of unique feet. Even when two people share identical measurements, they may need completely different shoes. These facts highlight the complexity of shoe fit design, which has left generations settling for poor fit and pain. AI-driven solutions, such as IAMBIC’s custom-fit MODEL T shoe, offer a data-based approach to this challenge.
The Problem with Standard Shoes
"Most people have fairly unique foot shapes," explains Dr. Hylton Menz, one of the world's leading podiatry researchers. "Yet the majority of shoes in stores are designed around a hypothetical average foot." Drawing from over three decades of research, Menz notes that this disconnect can lead to a range of issues, from immediate pain to long-term problems like bunions, hammer toes, and compromised knee and back health.
Advanced Technology for AI-Tailored Shoes
IAMBIC's approach combines advanced technology with detailed fit analysis for their custom-fit MODEL T shoe, named a TIME Best Invention. The fitting process begins with a smartphone-based foot scan where users capture three images of each foot. This analysis generates over 20 distinct measurements to create a detailed digital profile of each foot's unique characteristics. Traditional sizing systems, even with extended widths, still rely on standard length and width measurements, failing to capture the true complexity of foot shape.
Precision-Fit Beyond Foot Shape
Even when two people share identical measurements, their optimal footwear needs can differ significantly. The MODEL T's customization process accounts for this complexity by considering more than just physical dimensions. Beyond the foot scan, users share comfort preferences and lifestyle context. This data, whether someone prefers a snug or loose fit or more or less cushioning, is crucial because comfort is highly subjective and even small differences can significantly affect satisfaction.
Foot Health
This customization system aims to create shoes with optimal fit and comfort for each individual. “IAMBIC’s technology is a genuine game-changer,” says Menz, explaining how the system “can actually look at the individual, work out the shape of their foot, and work out what sort of footwear they need.” The potential impact extends beyond individual comfort, as Menz notes, "This has a huge impact on foot health at the population level."
The Verdict
The MODEL T demonstrates how AI-driven analysis can advance footwear customization, addressing fit challenges that affect both comfort and long-term foot health. Combining precise measurements with comfort preferences creates new possibilities in footwear design that go beyond traditional sizing and widths to enable personalized fit.
About Dr. Hylton B. Menz
Hylton B. Menz, PhD, is a globally recognized podiatry researcher and professor at La Trobe University. His work spans gait, balance, and musculoskeletal foot health with hundreds of peer-reviewed publications. He advises IAMBIC on research priorities and fit strategy, connecting clinical science to daily movement and long-term mobility.
FAQs
How does the smartphone scan work?
Three guided photos on four sheets of printer paper create a 3D profile of each foot. The scan feeds our fit engine along with your comfort preferences.
Is the fit accurate?
Our process operates with high-fidelity geometry capture across a large dataset. Results are reviewed and incorporated into your build and future pairs.
What if something feels off?
Every order is covered by our Signature Fit Guarantee with unlimited refits.
Where should I start?
Take the Fit Guide Quiz for a quick plan based on your routine and goals.
The most interesting thing about them being crafted just for me is how well they fit. And I had never even noticed that my shoes didn't fit right. My other shoes don't hurt me - they just slosh around. With these, the heels actually stay on the whole time and it fits snugly yet still comfortably. And I'd never experienced that before. They just stay comfortable all day.
As a runner, as an athlete, just knowing that I'm doing a good service to my body is incredible. It’s the reason that I love my IAMBIC shoes. It's that precision that makes me feel safe to walk down the street, get on the subway, do my commute, bring my kids to school, and not feel concerned that I'm doing it in a shoe that doesn't fit right or that doesn't feel good.
The thing that I was surprised by the most with the precision fit is that any pressure points thatI had been feeling with the shoes that I previously came in wearing were completely gone. I was wearing a shoe that wasn't too tight. It wasn't too loose. The sole fit just right. Total comfort.That's the best way to put it.
So I suffer from chronic foot pain and I believe that a lot of that has to do with wearing shoes that actually don't fit. Whenever I wear my IAMBICs, I've noticed that I have felt less pain, which is really incredible. And they're just so comfortable. I'm not worried about the back of my heel popping out or my ankles not having enough support. Also, they're just so stylish and every time I wear them out in the street, I always get compliments, which never happens to me.
A shoe that may feel comfortable for a half hour walk is not a shoe that always feels comfort able for a three and a half hour walk. So what I like about IAMBIC is, even though the snug fit is there and it feels comfortable, it also feels substantial enough that I can walk a lot without getting any discomfort. That's just something that's especially important to me and I think the shoe has really delivered that.
The first moment that I tried on my IAMBIC shoes, I noticed a difference. I have small feet. So whenever I try on shoes, I usually expect them to not fit. If they do fit, there's usually some sort of discomfort, whether that's in the toe box or too much space or at the heel. So knowing that this shoe was tailored to my foot was really meaningful. It's rare that you find a shoe like IAMBIC that truly is comfortable, but also hits the markers of style versatility.
I think we're all placed on this earth as unique individuals. None of us are really off the rack in terms of sizing. So for me to have that experience of having something made specifically for me that fit perfectly was something that was a little bit mind blowing. And once I got the shoes, I tried them on, they looked great, they felt great. And honestly, they fit like a glove.
When we get behind the wheel of a Ferrari, Lamborghini, people feel that precision. 1 millimeter of change in the steering wheel, you will feel that. 1 millimeter of pressure into the accelerator, you’ll feel that. And for me, that is a linkage between performance, but then for me as I'm wearing my IAMBICs, it's just another reminder of how my IAMBICs are created based on that performance and the millimeter of precision that's included within the shoe which aligns up with the world of Ferrari and Lamborghini and the precision behind that.
Having a pair of shoes that I know will make me be able to stand up and do the job that I need to do without feeling burnt out or exhausted at the end of the day, which most shoes will end up doing no matter what they've been in the past. After a certain amount of time standing up, I don't think I've ever worried about that, or had that fatigue after a long shoot. At the end of a shoot when it's “Oh hey, we have to go into overtime." or something like that. This is something that helps me not feel the fatigue of being drained or tired because it's a pain that I don't get anymore from being on my feet for so long.
They're so comfortable that they're a part of life. They move with you, and I think that's the support, the comfort. I don't wear them just for the style, I wear them because they make me feel good. That's a really big thing for me.
When I wear my dress shoes, I'm constantly thinking OK, I wish I brought a pair of sneakers, and then when I have my sneakers on, then I'm tending to deal with the issues in the upper, right, part of the shoe whether on the front or back of my foot. So I want to say to myself, okay how do I replicate the feel of the IAMBIC shoe because I wear this every day.
What will happen is I'll wear my IAMBICs, I'm like this is great, like my day is good, I don't really notice anything. And then, if I switch to a different pair of shoes, especially like my very high end sneakers and I have a not bad collection of other high end sneakers, I'm immediately like ugh this just sucks like they really do. So I think it's the relational sort of experience where when I'm wearing my IAMBICs, I don't really notice and I think that says a lot. And it’s not until you wear a different set of shoes that you're like oh the reason I'm not noticing is because these fit my feet so well.