Editor’s Note: This article draws on TIME Magazine’s recognition of the IAMBIC MODEL T as one of the Best Inventions of the Year. It explores the precision-fit process and how AI-driven personalization is redefining footwear comfort for executives and performance professionals.
Custom-fit shoes built to the millimeter from advanced smartphone scanning, AI, and biomechanics. Designed in New York City. Crafted in Portugal. Your foundation is the MODEL T. From there, the Precision Fit Program learns from your wear so each new pair refines comfort, posture support, and all-day focus. You are covered by our Signature Fit Guarantee with unlimited refits.
Not ready to order? Take the Fit Guide Quiz for personalized fit guidance and to learn if IAMBIC is right for you.
What this recognition highlights
- AI-tailored last built from your photos and comfort questionnaire
- Sizeless fit beyond standard size grids
- Handmade leather construction shaped to your data
- Learning loop using Sole Print wear photos for pair two and beyond
- Over 50,000 foot scans processed
- 98% scan-to-last geometry match
- Backed by the U.S. National Science Foundation
How the custom-fit process works
Step 1: Order your MODEL T.
Step 2: After checkout, we send a link to the Virtual Consultation. Take three images of each foot while standing on four sheets of printer paper and answer a short comfort survey. Our platform builds your comfort profile across more than twenty biometric variables, including Sole Print wear-pattern signals.
Step 3: We craft and ship. A biomechanical engineer reviews your fit, and your design runs through our AI models before going to our craft partners in Portugal. Italian full-grain leather is cut and assembled to your geometry. Most orders ship in about 4 to 6 weeks. If anything feels off, we adjust with unlimited refits through the Signature Fit Guarantee.
Want the full walkthrough? Read How custom-fit shoes work and the Virtual Consultation Guide. Learn how each next pair evolves on the Precision Fit Program page.
Tech note: Our pipeline blends NASA-grade scanning with AI and engineering review, then learns from wear data.
In their words
“A shoe that may feel comfortable for a half-hour walk is not always comfortable for a three-hour walk. What I like about IAMBIC is that, even though the snug fit is there, it also feels substantial enough that I can walk a lot without discomfort. That’s something especially important to me, and I think the shoe really delivers that.”
David B. – Read the full testimonial
Why this matters for executives
- Comfort that holds through long meetings and travel days
- Posture support and alignment over distance
- A fit relationship that improves with wear
About the TIME Magazine Author
Ashley Mateo is an award-winning journalist and editor covering health, fitness, and culture. Her work appears in TIME, The Wall Street Journal, Runner’s World, Women’s Running, and Men’s Journal. She is an RRCA and UESCA certified running coach, founder of RUNHER Magazine, and a Boston University journalism graduate based in Denver.
FAQs
How do I start if I am new to IAMBIC?
Visit the MODEL T page and place your order, then complete the smartphone Virtual Consultation after checkout. If you want to learn more first, take the Fit Guide Quiz for personalized fit guidance.
Can I do everything on my smartphone?
Yes. Set aside 10 to 15 minutes in a well-lit space. You will need a phone and four sheets of printer paper. Use Chrome or Safari.
How long does it take to receive my pair?
Most orders ship in about 4 to 6 weeks after your Virtual Consultation.
How do future pairs get better?
Your feedback and Sole Print wear photos guide refinements to geometry, cushioning, and structure through the Precision Fit Program.
How is my data handled?
Your scan and assessment are used to design your fit and future refits. We store them securely and never sell personal data.
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.