Kicks from way back - Nike Air Max Pillar (1998)

In 1998 the Nike Air Max Pillar was released.

The caged upper, and squiggly midsole design caught my eye right away.

From 1995 thru 2000, a majority of my Nikes had a full length airbag (TL).  "Total Air" which is another word for full Air Max cushioning.  The Pillar was one of the many.  Bulky, but ultimately a comfy trooper.  The upper was different, the outside had a 3M reflective cage, while the inside was textured perforated leather.

The caged upper and the appearance of netting to secure the foot is one of the concepts I have gravitated to over the years.  I'm also a sucker for 3M reflective, pull tabs, and tongues with holes.

The shoe has been retro'ed recently, and while I will always have a soft spot in my heart, these Pillars would definitely be an outlet buy nowadays.

Shoutout to the designer (and team) responsible for this shoe!

Sources:

http://www.sneakerhead.com/nike-air-max-pillar-525226003.html

Nike Ease Challenge II

The deadline for submission to the Nike Ease Challenge is December 15th, one month away.

My plan is 2 weeks idea generation, 2 weeks refining ideas, 2 weeks of prototyping.

The challenge for me is to turn off the internal filter during idea generation.

The more ingredients in the idea pot, the better the outcome.  Diversity breeds innovation.

When you start wondering ..."if it's already been invented?"  the battle for creative freedom has been lost.

There are constraints a shoe designer develops when creating a new design:

  • The athlete has full use of both hands for putting the shoe on and off
  • The athlete's foot can move during entry and exit of the shoe
  • The shoe fit can be adjusted during short breaks in the sports activity
  • The athlete can bend over and secure the shoe by tying the laces

The criteria from Nike on the challenge is straightforward:

Successful technologies will be:
  • Optimized for an easy entry, closure and exit of a shoe
  • Engineered for high performance and fit
    • Transferable across a wide range of shoe sizes and styles
  • Viable solutions ready for prototyping

The traditional footwear assumptions have to be changed for the Ease Challenge:

  • The athlete has limited use of one or both hands for putting the shoe on and off
  • The athlete's foot cannot arch/move during entry and exit of the shoe
  • The shoe fit cannot be adjusted during short breaks in the sports activity
  • The athlete cannot bend over and secure the shoe by tying the laces
Nike Hyper Adapt 1.0

Nike Hyper Adapt 1.0

I think the winning technology will

  • incorporate FlyWire to secure the foot to the sole (high performance)
  • Is as easy to put on and off as a loafer or moccasin
  • Has an enlarged foot opening for Orthotic braces
  • Has a lacing system that can be loosened or tightened with minimal force applied by the wearer
  • an flexible dynamic upper for different shapes and sizes of feet

This process has been beneficial for me.  Building empathy for the athlete, understanding how difficult it must be to put a pair of shoes with limited mobility.  Wanting to be active but not having a shoe that fits your special need in footwear. 

For the next 2 weeks, I'll be refining my preliminary concepts:

  • Flywire Ratchet Concept
  • Flywire Magnet Concept
  • Flywire Strain Relief Bend Concept
  • Hook and Loop Sock Fastener Concept
  • Split Tongue/Magnet Concept
  • Modular fit shell Concept
  • Woven Hatch Lacing Concept
  • Dynamic Buckles Lacing Concept
  • Arch Strap Concept
  • Clam shell Upper Concept
  • Magnetic Flywire Cage Concept
  • Foot Latching Lacing Concept
  • Hook and Loop Upper Clam shell Concept

Sources

https://ninesights.ninesigma.com/web/nike/faqs

Smart Shoes

Why can't the toe box on my shoes tell me how fast and how long I've been running?

 

What if you wanted to know the optimal spot on your foot to take a free kick from?

Today, Apple was granted a patent for conductive carbon nanotubes to be used in a fold-able Iphone.

These tubes form flexible strands that hold signals (electricity) and are flexible and resistant to cracking.

Apple has found a way to bend displays and stretch signals over a small folded area.

 

With the release of the Nike HyperAdapt and Air Mag, there is a push to have shoes be more adaptive and responsive to the athlete.

After the fold-able phone, the smart shoe will be next. 

For smart shoes to succeed, the wiring and connections needed to power the shoe have to integrate seamlessly into the shoe.

 

The guts.

The guts.

Embedding conductive carbon fibers into a flyknit upper would create a feedback loop for the athlete.  Using touch sensors embedded in the sole and upper, an athlete could see stride, speed and impact information displayed on a phone, or directly on the toebox.

A soccer player, who now has a target displayed directly on his boot, to guide him to his strongest spot for a free kick.

The basketball player, who can see how high they jumped for the last rebound.

Nike Ease Challenge

On Oct 28th, Nike announced the Nike Ease Challenge, which invites designers, engineers, makers and innovators to advance and reinvent footwear design for athletes of all abilities. The $50,000 challenge continues Nike’s leadership in driving footwear innovations that help all athletes to live more active and independent lives.

I've worn some of the alternative entry system shoes Nike has put out in the past. 

Love the Air Rift.

I dug into the patent vault to learn more.  For the Nike FlyEase, a lacing system is connected to a strap of velcro along with the use of a zipper.  I didn't realize there was a lacing system connected through the strap to make the shoe tighter.  Here are some of the shoe sketches below.

For my design I'm thinking about:

Magnets to open and close foot entry

how can an athlete tighten a shoe with limited mobility?

how can an athlete take off a tightened shoe with limited mobility?

two separate uppers that weave through each other

how can you open an upper for a larger foot, then create an adaptive level of ankle support?

how can you mechanize the closure of a shoe differently than the AIRMAG (motor in sole)?

How can you use rubber and stretch materials to provide support?

an adaptive lacing system in between the liner and the upper

stretch weave materials

A removable heel counter

early concepts from the Nike FlyEase Video

early concepts from the Nike FlyEase Video

Here's some of the videos I watched while coming up with ideas/inspirations.

Showing the function

A quote from the redsign of the Aeron Chair got me thinking about engineering and design.  Showing function as a form of design.

The Aeron chair was made for function, yet gained an appeal because of it's design.

“Its designers, Bill Stumpf and Don Chadwick, built the Aeron according to what the body needs, not what the eye likes. The result was a chair that looked more engineered than designed.”

The Pompidou in Paris is much the same.  By showing how the building functions, you create a unique design.

“The skeleton itself engulfs the building from its exterior, showing all of the different mechanical and structure systems not only so that they could be understood but also to maximize the interior space without interruptions.”

The iconic Nike Air Max One shows you what's on the inside.  The function is exposed to create a design.

“This part of the design known as ‘Maximum Volume’ allowed the transfer of air on impact — allowing the Air bag to expand beyond the confines of the midsole. So although they allowed you to see the Visible Air cushioning unit, they had more function as well.”

Learning About : 3D Drawing

The outsole of this Reebok was printed using a technology developed for the automotive industry.

As a first step, this technology can create an outsole pattern without a mold.  However, the problems found in traditional footwear manufacturing of adhering the upper to the midsole is still present. 

I could see this printing out a full upper if a last is used to help retain the shoe's shape.  If the machine could incorporate threads, the upper gets even more strength.  The next challenge would be creating a one piece upper/midsole to mechanically attach to the mesh outsole.

Sources

http://www.gameplan-a.com/2016/10/tips-truly-innovate-former-nasa-engineer/

Sneaker School - Recap

Over 60 hrs of work created a pair of bespoke Air Jordan 1's.  The process of making a pair of sneakers is straightforward: cut leather, sew leather, stretch leather, glue on sole. 

Even with a straightforward process, the shoe maker has the ability to put creativity and innovation into each pair he creates.

Its All A Process

Its All A Process

There were early mornings and late nights, but it was all worth it.  Stitching the leather was the toughest part for me.  A crooked stitch meant the thread had to be removed and that piece of leather might need to be replaced.  There was no room for error.

Dom "The Shoe Surgeon"

Dom "The Shoe Surgeon"

The Box

The Box

I'm extremely proud of what I created.  From the flyknit and leathers down to the lasting and stitching, I made it.  I have a Nike sole and a swoosh, but it was made by Aaron. 

One of One.

The 11 students came from different backgrounds, but all shared a love for sneakers and making.  Throughout the whole class, we learned and worked together.  Everyone helped each other realize thier creations.  I was grateful and inspired by the way we worked together as a team.

Dinner with the class

Dinner with the class

Sneaker School - Day 5

The 5th and last day is also the LAST day.  I started out with a fully stitched upper, sock and toe liner included.  The other students were at various stages of the construction process.  As one person finished learning, they were teaching someone else how to do it.  It was great,

The upper materials now need to stretch (lasted) over the silhouette of the Air Jordan 1.  The shoe last is made in the shape of the shoe, and is made from a plastic so nails can be used to pull the leather tight .  Before the leather is lasted, we nailed a board to the bottom of the last.  This is the strobel, the bottom of the shoe and the part that holds everything together.

With the strobel tacked onto the last, I started pulling and nailing the leather to the last.  First you pull down the heel, the the toe then alternate from side to side until the leather takes the shape of the last.

After lasting, the leather is bonded to the strobel, then the nails are removed.

The excess material on the bottom of the shoe is skived off to fit into the outsole. 

After seating the upper into the outsole cup, you mark the permeter of the shoe with a pen, this is the cement bond line to hold the shoe together.

The outsole and upper are bonded together, then the upper and sole are stitched together.

Tomorrow, I'll share pictures of the sneakers and what I learned from the course.

Sneaker School - Day 4

Day 4 was all about finishing sewing 30 pieces of leather, flyknit and fabric into two uppers.

With symmetrical patterns, the medial (inside) and lateral (outside) part of the shoe are the same.   The small cutouts on the top of the pattern (image to the right) are the stitching paths, to help line up each of the pieces.  The bottom row of cut outs are the guide for bottom edge of the shoe.

As each piece was stitched on, scraps turned into pieces, pieces turned into sections.  Once all of the outward facing pieces were sewn together, the shoe liner was added. 

One of my favorite aspect of Day 4 was being able to select the thread color.  I had a chance to do contrast stitching on the white leather and red swoosh, but still keep a black stitch on the pattern pieces.

To match the sole and the swoosh, I picked a red sock liner.  The sock liner is sewn on inside out to the outside of the shoe, foam is glued on, then its flipped and sewn onto the inside of the shoe. 

 

Day 4 was tough, lots of sewing and gluing. I didn't spend much time taking pictures, wanted to finish my shoe on time.

One of the final stitches was connecting the toe box to the upper.

The end of day 4 was a fully sewn upper and an outsole.  Time to connect the two...

IMG_5992.PNG

UP NEXT - DAY 5 - Lasting and Sole Bonding

Sneaker School - Day 3

After day 2, The Shoe Surgeon took our leathers to be skived.  Skiving is the removal of leather to reduce the thickness.  The overlapping pieces of leather were skived to fit together properly during bonding and stitching.

IMG_5898.JPG

In Learning About: Flat Knitting, I researched traditional sewing and found this video that explain the sewing process nicely.

Sewing is all about repetition.  I worked one stitch at a time on scrap pieces, until I felt comfortable to work on my pieces.  A sewing machine engages everything: arms, legs, eyes and ears.  The foot pedal, holding lining up the materials, listening to the hum of the machine.

After a few sloppy stitches, I started comparing my work to the one created by Nike on a high volume production line.  Perfect lines sewed by a person with years of experience?

Mass Production Sewing

Mass Production Sewing

Should I start that row over?  Should the stitches look exactly like the original? No.  Our learning comes from making "mistakes".

Each stitch told the story of learning by doing.  I am gaining confidence and building my custom creation, one stitch at a time.

UP NEXT - DAY 4 - More stitching/sewing and Lasting