Sara Valeri is an emerging name in sports products and footwear design. She is reshaping the industry by combining fashion, performance, and technology. As a Venezuelan-born designer, a woman in a male-dominated field, and an innovator in 3D-printed footwear, she sets new digital and sustainable design standards.
Sara’s online brand, SVR Design, serves as both a creative platform and an incubator for cutting-edge design experiments. It blends VR, 3D printing, and advanced materials to push the boundaries of sports, fashion, and sustainability. Her work presents an intersection between high fashion, streetwear and performance sports products with her recent footwear launches demonstrating how accessible and stylish her products are. Sara’s vision for the future of digital fashion and luxury sneakers is an immense promise and unparalleled opportunities.
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Sara’s Beginnings
Sara’s journey began in Venezuela, where she developed a passion for sports and design. After high school, she came to the United States and studied Industrial Design at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), graduating in 2021.
Afterward, she earned a Master of Science in Sports Product Design from the University of Oregon, which provided her with invaluable expertise in biomechanics, human physiology, footwear, apparel, equipment and advanced materials.
As a professional, Sara has worked with brands like Under Armour, Faryl Robin and currently HOKA. In each of these roles, she has actively pushed the boundaries of
digital design in performance and fashion footwear. She uses digital tools like VR, AR, 3D modeling, parametric modeling, and 3D printing to create cutting-edge footwear for fashion and performance. These are top-of-the-line tools that integrate bleeding-edge technology with a more hands-on approach.
Through these tools, Sara can embrace the digitization of these mediums while meticulously retaining her authorial intent and control. To this end, SVR Design is her personal creative brand and an innovation platform. Through it, Sara experiments with digital design, 3D printing, and emerging footwear technologies.
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It is also a community-driven space where she connects with other designers and shares her processes through social media. Through SVR, Sara has started selling her footwear designs. In collaboration with Zellerfeld, she launched her Digi-Puff 3D- printed shoe, which made her the first woman on the platform.
Achievements
● Pensole x New Balance Masterclass & Competition Winner, further developing her expertise in sports product design.
● Furniture design collaboration with SCADpro x Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, where her EVA desk chair was manufactured and sold.
● Gravity Sketch Ambassador, advocating for VR in footwear design.
● International Design Awards (IDA) 2024 Gold & Silver Winner – Recognized for her adaptive table tennis paddle and transitional soccer cleats.
● FIT Sport Design Awards & Global Footwear Design Awards Winner – Multiple recognitions for innovative footwear projects.
The Future of Footwear and Fashion
Sara’s vision for the future of digital fashion and footwear is that 3D printing and sustainable materials can help transform luxury, streetwear and performance sports products. These materials can make products more affordable, accessible, and efficient. Her designs intersect fashion, function, and technology, particularly in how she balances high-performance functionality with aesthetic innovation.
She says, “Design is a tool for impact, not just aesthetics—it should solve problems, inspire, and connect.”
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Final Thoughts
SVR Design is evolving into a full-fledged design studio in the next years, with Sara planning to launch independent product lines and work with brands and creatives across different industries.
Moving forward, Sara hopes to grow SVR Design further into a hub for experimental design, innovation, and community building.
Furthermore, she plans to launch a series of independent product lines exploring new manufacturing and customization forms.
Sara’s ultimate dream for SVR Design is to create a space where designers from different fields—artists, engineers, musicians—can collaborate to advance creativity.
Visit her website today to see the innovation and craft she brings to the field in inspired, unexpected ways.
Presented by: APG
