If there is one overwhelming trend in fashion at the moment, it is what's called athleticwear. Sport and fashion are converging in new ways blurring conventional definitions with athletes replacing movie stars as celebrities on front covers and front row shows. Fast forwarding the trend is footwear and the mass appeal of what we wear on our feet - sneakers, trainers and newer versions of classic styles soften the boundaries as do collaborations like Vans with Marc Jacobs, Puma with Rihanna, Converse with Comme des Garcons, Adidas with Stella McCartney and Rick Owens. Other brands are keeping up. It was once estimated that 80% of trainers are not used for sports.
During the recent Milan Design Week, one of the most popular exhibitions strategically located just beside the new Fondazione Prada art museum, was Nike's "The Nature of Motion". For this the company asked ten international designers from Italy, Sweden, the US and the UK to create installations based around the idea of movement. Each was separated by Richard Serra style high circular walls of white brickwork which turned out to be shoe boxes.
Among the innovative installations were car tube resting pods upholstered with ropes, Nike laces and belts by Dutch designer Bertjan Pot, an athlete's microclimate chair by US based Greg Lynn, floor lamps with diffusers made with Flynit (a unique Nike material) by Venetian creative studio Zaven and a communal ergonomic chair made of steel and wrapped in Flynit by Sebastian Wrong from the UK.
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Then to a special display of Nike’s past innovations including the famous Nike Free from 2004, a design response to a new understanding of biomechanics. This breakthrough technology aimed to create some of the advantages of running barefoot with the first running outsole consisting of deeply cut grooves for flexibility with a supersoft seamless upper.
For hardcore sneaker freaks, however, the most arresting presentation was the final section called Experiments in Natural Motion comprising more than twenty conceptually designed sneakers fashioned in unexpected materials that drew inspiration from areas as diverse as cats’ whiskers, champagne packaging and hair accessories. Starting with Flynit uppers, these out of the box inventions were specifically to show how Nike designers engage daily in “fantastic” thinking. Spectators were captivated.
One shoe featured a gliding convex outsole designed to propel an athlete forward the second they plant their foot on the ground. In essence it does the walking for them. Innovative cushioning systems included repurposing bendable spiral hair rollers to build a footwear outsole, using plungers to pad foot impact and provide a touch of pace reducing suction while another used underfoot liquid to create a fluid cushioning system. One curious platform design debuted a vibrating tooling system aimed at helping athletes recover while they run.
Future plans becoming a reality, however, according to Nike designer Tinker Hatfield are self tightening laces and motorised zippers with lights on the sole - due to go on sale later this year. Sneaker heads take note.
Here are some samples of Experiments in Natural Motion including a future version of Nike Zoom Air along with six currently fashionable sneaker and trainers from various brands on sale now.
RUNNERS YOU CAN BUYs
- New Balance runners €100 from Athlete's Foot, 120 Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork
- Black and white leather Mihara sneakers by Balenciaga at Brown Thomas €475
- Macy espadrille trainers €445 by Stella McCartney at Brown Thomas
- Adidas black and white trainers €90 from Athlete’s Foot, Cork
- Suzy Skate slip on trainers by Lanvin at Brown Thomas €550
- Vegan trainer in Pinatex a fabric from pineapple fibre designed and made by Rombaut in Paris and shortly on sale in Dover Street Market and other outlets.
CONCEPT TRAINERS
- Velcro rollers can be adjusted to wearer’s preferred shoe density, height and weight.
- Intended to decelerate an athlete’s gait; this employs plunger to pad foot impact and provide pace reducing suction
- This recreated soft underfoot sensation of running on pine needles
- Coloured mops form a flamboyant cushioning system that says “I am going to wipe the floor with you”
- A future version of Nike Zoom Air with a 3D tooling system
