A Review of Bio-Inspired Knitted Textiles: Gaps and Directions in Dynamic Responsiveness of Shoe Upper Design

This study examines the potential of incorporating bio-inspired knitted textiles into the athletic shoe upper design by examining recent advancements in their structural and functional properties. While current research primarily focuses on fiber development and surface modifications, there is limited exploration into how knitting structures can contribute to dynamic responsiveness during athletic movements. A performance-driven design framework is developed to translate the material characteristics (e.g., tensile resilience, breathability) into footwear optimization strategies. A biomimetic analysis of the textile reveals four domains: dynamic adaptability, mechanical performance, active responsiveness, and bio-hybrid sustainability, highlighting notable research gaps in adaptive thermoregulation and mechanical performance under dynamic conditions. Based on an analysis of bio-inspired materials and biomechanical foot-shoe interactions, three engineered design directions are proposed: 1) adaptive thermal-regulation systems, 2) biomechanical energy-recycling architecture, and 3) ultralight directional-resilience structures. The proposed visualization framework provides structural-functional co-design guidelines for the footwear industry and shows the potential of bio-textiles in enhancing athletic performance. The findings highlight the interdisciplinary integration of textile engineering, biomechanics, and advanced manufacturing to enhance dynamic adaptability and mechanical performance in shoe upper design.