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Warp Knitting Set To Redefine Footwear Innovation, Says New Balance

• By  Textile Excellence
• July 01, 2026

Warp knitting is rapidly emerging as a game-changing technology for the global footwear industry, enabling lighter, stronger, more sustainable athletic shoes while dramatically cutting development time.

Speaking at the inauguration of KARL MAYER's Textile Innovation Center in Obertshausen, Vishnu Prakash Muthusamy, Senior Textile and Materials Engineer at New Balance, said the technology is transforming textile manufacturers from component suppliers into strategic product development partners.

A mini car on your foot

Modern performance shoes combine up to 30 individual components, each balancing weight, durability, breathability, stability and comfort. As brands race to shorten product cycles and improve sustainability, conventional manufacturing is reaching its limits.

"From a technical standpoint, a modern athletic shoe is like a mini-car packed into a tiny space," said Muthusamy.

One fabric, multiple functions

Instead of stitching together numerous components, warp knitting integrates performance zones directly into a single textile structure.

Using Jacquard-based zonal engineering, manufacturers can precisely create breathable sections, reinforced support zones, controlled stretch, lace-strengthening areas and even graphics and logos—all in a single production step. The result is fewer manufacturing stages, lower weight, improved durability and significantly less material waste.

"It's not just about simplification and greater speed. By reducing complexity, we also improve the product's performance," Muthusamy said.

Design changes in days, not weeks

Speed is becoming a decisive competitive advantage.

With KARL MAYER's EN pattern drive, digital design updates can be transferred directly to production machines within seconds, eliminating new tooling and accelerating product validation.

"We only have seven days to switch from Design A to Design B. Thanks to the EN function, we can seamlessly transfer the pattern without any new pattern discs or additional tools," Muthusamy noted.

New materials are evaluated within 14 days, while finished footwear must be ready within 45 days, leaving virtually no room for delays.

Sustainability built into production

Warp knitting also delivers major sustainability gains through near-net-shape manufacturing, producing components close to their final geometry and sharply reducing cutting waste.

Multiple shoe components—including uppers, tongues and collars—can be produced as a single textile piece, lowering energy use, labour requirements and assembly operations while improving durability. Mono-material constructions using recycled or bio-based yarns also make footwear easier to recycle.

According to Muthusamy, warp knitting ranks among the industry's most energy-efficient textile manufacturing technologies.

Up to 28% material savings

A recent New Balance development project demonstrated the commercial impact.

By optimising fabric layouts, production increased from four to five pairs of shoes per yard of fabric, reducing material costs by up to 28% while virtually eliminating waste. Precision manufacturing through Jacquard technology enables placement accuracy of ±2 mm.

The next frontier: 3D footwear

Looking ahead, Muthusamy sees the industry moving beyond flat pattern making toward 3D biomechanical engineering.

Because the human foot is inherently three-dimensional, future textile structures must respond to movement, pressure and biomechanics in real time.

"Warp knitting allows you to conceptually shift from 2D patterning to 3D structural engineering. Your machine should be capable of producing textiles in 3D form," he said.

For performance brands, that could unlock the next competitive edge—where every gram and every fraction of a second matters.

Bottom Line: As footwear brands demand faster innovation, lower environmental impact and higher performance, warp knitting is rapidly positioning itself as a core manufacturing technology for the next generation of athletic footwear.

Modern performance shoes combine up to 30 individual components, each balancing weight, durability, breathability, stability and comfort. As brands race to shorten product cycles and improve sustainability, conventional manufacturing is reaching its limits. "From a technical standpoint, a modern athletic shoe is like a mini-car packed into a tiny space," said Muthusamy.