Unibody construction footwear and method for making the same

An athletic shoe comprising:

• a unibody shoe upper comprising a pre-cut assembly including:
• a plurality of elements pre-cut, layered on top of one another and adhered together to form a continuous composite structure having a stacked arrangement, the continuous composite structure being disposed in a folded configuration having the shape of a footwear with edge portions of the continuous composite structure joined together at a seam to form a permanent shape, the continuous composite structure including:
• 1) a first layer comprising a first partial layer element;
• 2) a second layer comprising a first full layer element positioned next to the first partial layer element, the first full layer element including a fabric or mesh material and being larger in overall dimension than the first partial layer element;
• 3) a third layer comprising an array of individual cushioning pod elements forming a cushioning padding element, the cushioning padding element being stacked onto the first full layer element and being constructed from a different material than the fabric or mesh material of the first full layer element;
• and
• 4) a fourth layer comprising an insole element stacked onto the cushioning padding element;
• and
• wherein the first full layer element includes at least one pod fitting aperture sized and positioned to engage a corresponding cushioning pod element.