Best Buy turned 60 in 2026, marking six decades of bringing new technology into people's homes and everyday lives. To celebrate the milestone, the retailer teamed up with Nexbie on something a little unexpected: a 3D printed sneaker.
The collaboration resulted in a special edition of Nexbie's Aeroraise 3D Printed Sneakers, finished in Best Buy's signature blue and yellow. More than a commemorative colorway, the project brought together Best Buy's long-standing connection to technology and Nexbie's approach to turning 3D printing into functional footwear.
For Nexbie, the collaboration also speaks to a question we have been exploring from the beginning: What should 3D printing bring to a shoe?
We do not see the value of 3D printing as simply creating forms that traditional manufacturing struggles to produce. Technology should ultimately serve the product itself, from material and structure to support, airflow and the way the shoe feels underfoot.
Others print the look. We print the experience.
The limited-edition sneakers were created as part of Best Buy's 60th anniversary celebration, bringing a new, technology-led perspective to one of the most familiar products in everyday life: a pair of shoes.
Celebrating Best Buy's 60th Anniversary with 3D Printed Footwear
For 60 years, Best Buy has helped customers bring new technology into everyday life. For its anniversary, the company took that idea in a different direction.
This time, the technology showed up on a pair of shoes.
Working with Nexbie, Best Buy introduced a special anniversary edition of the Aeroraise, a sneaker made through 3D printing rather than traditional footwear assembly.
For Nexbie, the project felt like a natural extension of how we approach footwear.
Our goal is to rethink the shoe through 3D printing, rather than use 3D printing to reproduce a conventional shoe.
From the one-piece lattice construction to targeted areas of support and cushioning, and the airflow created by its open structure, 3D printing is not an added visual feature on the Aeroraise. It shapes the shoe from the beginning.
Best Buy summed up the collaboration in its own announcement:
"Created in collaboration with Nexbie, the sneakers are 3D printed as one seamless piece. There’s no stitching or glue, just an innovative lattice structure engineered for comfort, cushioning and breathability."
The choice of 3D printed footwear fit naturally with the story Best Buy wanted to tell around its anniversary. Instead of looking back only at six decades of technology, the project pointed toward what technology can still change, including something as familiar as a sneaker.
That is also the direction Nexbie continues to explore: what happens when technology moves beyond demonstration and becomes part of everyday life, where the experience of using the product measures its value.
Inside the Anniversary Sneaker
At the center of the Best Buy anniversary sneaker is the one-piece lattice construction used in Nexbie's Aeroraise.
The open structure gives the shoe its distinctive look, but the design goes beyond appearance. Different areas of the lattice support airflow, cushioning and underfoot support, all within a single printed structure.
For Nexbie, the lattice has never been simply the visual signature of a 3D printed shoe. It is part of how the shoe functions.
By adjusting the structure, density and geometry of the lattice, different areas of the shoe serve different purposes. Softer zones give where the foot needs cushioning, while denser zones provide support where greater stability is needed. The structure is designed around the foot, rather than added after the fact.
There is no traditional stitching joining separate sections together and no glued midsole attached beneath the upper. Instead, the sneaker is produced as one integrated piece.
The anniversary edition carries several of the core features of Aeroraise:
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Seamless one-piece construction: The main structure is formed through 3D printing rather than assembled from multiple stitched layers.
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Dynamic arch support: A denser lattice under the arch adds support through standing and walking.
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Responsive cushioning: The lattice compresses under pressure and returns as the foot moves through each step.
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360° airflow: The open structure gives heat more room to escape during everyday wear.
These features reflect a simple principle behind Nexbie's approach to 3D printed footwear:
Technology is not the goal. Making a better shoe is.
A Wearable Celebration of 60 Years of Innovation
The Best Buy anniversary Aeroraise was created as a limited-edition release, but the collaboration stands out for a simpler reason: Best Buy chose to mark its 60th year with a product built around technology rather than a traditional anniversary keepsake.
The blue and yellow Aeroraise turns that idea into something customers can see and wear. Its 3D printed construction is not an added detail or decorative feature. It is the way the product is made.
For Nexbie, this special-edition Aeroraise also reflects how we think about the future of footwear: fewer compromises, more intentional design, a more direct approach to manufacturing and a product shaped more closely around real wearing needs.
What interests us most about 3D printing is not how unusual it makes a shoe look. It is the opportunity to ask a more fundamental question: What should a shoe be?
From material and structure to manufacturing and underfoot experience, Nexbie uses 3D printing to return attention to what matters most in footwear: support through every step, comfort through every step and greater freedom in how a shoe is designed.
The result is a collaboration that feels closely tied to both brands: Best Buy celebrating 60 years of technology, and Nexbie showing how 3D printing is moving into everyday footwear.
Nexbie.
3D Printing, Back to What a Shoe Should Be.
