Not long ago, Nike invited us to Barcelona, Spain for the unveiling of their latest shoes, which are yet another step forward in the revolutionizing of football boots. The ); return…
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Sports brand Adidas has created the world’s first football boot to have an upper knitted entirely from yarn (+ slideshow).
Adidas‘ limited-edition Samba Primeknit boot is said to offer the same levels of strength and stability as conventional boots, while using fewer materials and weighing less.
Using yarn means that the shoe doesn’t produce any waste material, making the Primeknit the company’s most sustainable football boot according to a press statement.
Football boots are traditionally made by stitching and laminating pieces together. However in this case, a single piece of yarn is knitted and attached to the sole of the shoe. By using just one textile layer, the upper material is reduced to a minimum – meaning the boot weighs just 165 grams.
“By producing the world’s first knitted football boot we have provided a brand new solution to the search for higher levels of comfort and flexibility,” said Markus Baumann, senior vice-president for global football at Adidas.
Developed over the course of two years, each piece of yarn is coated in a water-resistant polymer to ensure the boot doesn’t become waterlogged when wet.
Designers also created specific zones on the fabric to increase flexibility or stability depending on which part of the boot the yarn is located.
Although the technology has already been used in Adidas’ range of running shoes, plus Nike’s Flyknit footwear launched two years ago, the increased demands on the upper that playing football brings meant that further development of the material was required before it could be used for the sport.
“Primeknit is a technology that is right at the heart of Adidas innovation and we’re excited about introducing this development into football,” Baumann continued.
The colour – a mix of blue, orange, pink and lime green – is a reflection of the colour schemes currently used in Adidas’ Samba range, released ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup taking place in Brazil this summer.
The boot will be available from 17 March, with only 150 pairs due to go on sale.
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announced by Adidas appeared first on Dezeen.
Classic pieces, done exceptionally well, are hard to beat—especially when it comes to sweats. After consistently releasing some of the best sportswear in the world (including several runs of Winter Olympics uniforms for their home nation Canada, as well as the US and…
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L’esclusiva collezione Nike Sportswear White Label presenta la sua versione di Roshe Run per ora ispirata ai colori dei team di football come Brasile e Inghilterra. Attesi altri colori. Per ora le trovate qui.
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: scientists are combining non-living chemicals to create materials with the properties of living organisms, says the creator of a self-repairing shoe made from protocells.
Protocells, as the chemical cocktails are known, are made by mixing basic non-living molecules in lab conditions. These then combine to create substances that exhibit some of the characteristics of living cells: the ability to metabolise food, to move and to reproduce.
In this movie Dezeen filmed at the Wearable Futures conference in December, designer and materials researcher Shamees Aden explains how “scientists are now mixing together groups of chemicals [to make] them behave like living cells. They are able to reconfigure, they are able to adapt to light, pressure and heat.”
The synthetic production of living materials is so far limited to basic applications – modifying the behaviour of oil droplets in a water solution, for example – but Aden has developed a proposal that uses protocells to make self-regenerating soles for a pair of running shoes.
The Amoeba running shoes designed by Aden use protocells’ capabilities of responding to pressure, and inflates or deflates according to the texture of ground the wearer is running on to provide more or less cushioning.
Photocells, which have a limited life span, would be replenished after each run, explains Aden. “Your shoe box would be a vessel which would hold the [protocell] liquid inside. You could buy your protocell liquid and it would be dyed any colour you like and you would pour that in and as the shoe is rejuvenated the colours would emerge.”
The speculative project is the result of a collaboration with chemist Dr Michael Hanczyc of the Institute of Physics and Chemistry and the Center for Fundamental Living Technology (FLinT) in Denmark, who has worked extensively on protocells.
“At this point it is a speculative design project but it is grounded in real science and it could be in production by 2050,” says Aden.
This is the third movie from the two-day Wearable Futures conference that explored how smart materials and new technologies are helping to make wearable technology one of the most talked-about topics in the fields of design and technology.
In the first movie, designer of Dita von Teese’s 3D-printed gown Francis Bitonti explained how advances in design software mean “materials are becoming media”. In the second, Suzanne Lee explained how she makes clothes “grown using bacteria.”
The music featured in the movie is a track by DJ Kimon. You can listen to his music on Dezeen Music Project.
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers is a year-long collaboration with MINI exploring how design and technology are coming together to shape the future.
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“behave like living cells” appeared first on Dezeen.
Sports brand Adidas has unveiled its latest running shoes with springy blades sticking out of the soles (+ slideshow).
Adidas Springblade Razor trainers have 16 blades on the bottom of each shoe, arranged in pairs up the length of the base with two larger pads at each end.
Formed from specially engineered plastic, the blades compress under the runner’s weight when pressure is exerted on the ground then spring back to help push the foot forward.
A sock-like upper wraps around the top of the foot to keep it secure when pushing off and is designed to aid breathability.
The men’s trainers in four colourways are now available to preorder from the Adidas USA website, and will go on sale online and in stores across America tomorrow. They will launch in other countries later this year.
We’ve also published trainers with rubber loops on the bottom to give extra spring, which won the product design prize at a Swiss design awards last year.
Here’s the information that Adidas sent to us:
Adidas launches Springblade Razor, the next generation of explosive energy under your feet. The new running shoe is available for pre-order for $180 on adidas.com this weekend starting Sunday 12 January.
Springblade, introduced last year, is the first running shoe with blade technology designed to help propel you forward. The Razor features a unique web design over sock-like Techfit technology that helps lock your feet in place and enhances breathability. The shoe’s 16 individually tuned blades instantaneously react to any environment, compressing and releasing energy.
Springblade Razor goes on sale on adidas.com, at adidas Sport Performance stores and retailers nationwide including Finish Line on 16 January.
The Razor launches in four colorways for men, including Solar Blue/Tech Grey Metallic/Black, Black/Tech Grey Metallic/ Light Scarlet, Metallic Silver/Black/Light Scarlet and Light Scarlett/Black/Metallic Silver, and three colorways for women including Solar Blue/Tech Grey Metallic/Black, Black/Black/Vivid Berry and Bahia Pink/Metallic Silver/Black.
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with soles made of curved pads appeared first on Dezeen.
News: trainers with rubber loops on the soles to give extra spring have won the product design prize at a Swiss design awards (+ slideshow).
The running shoes first launched three years ago, by Swiss designer Thilo Alex Brunner for new Swiss sports brand On, won the award at the Design Prize Switzerland last week.
“The award is a big recognition for Thilo Alex Brunner and for On”, said On co-founder David Allemann. “In the tradition of functional and sleek Swiss design, the visual language of On is as unique as its groundbreaking technology. Function and form have been winning over elite athles and casual runners alike. Thilo has given On a face that is a radical departure from the crowded design of conventional running shoes.”
Flexible rubber sections on the soles, which the brand calls clouds, compress to act as shock absorbers when landing then lock together using small teeth to form firm pads for launching the body forward.
“Hollow pods on the sole of the shoe stretch back on impact to cushion the landing and then lock to form the solid foundation required for a powerful push-off,” said Allemann. “The result is a new running experience: fast, light and agile.”
Athletes including Ironman world champion Frederik Van Lierde and 2012 Olympic triathlon gold medalist Nicola Spirig have worn the shoes in competitive races.
Pairs are available with different uppers for different running distances, with a selection of bright laces and matching details.
Two product designs prizes were given out at the awards as part of the Market category for products available to purchase. The other winner was a swivelling lamp that clamps to the edge of a desk or shelf.
Photos are by Ingmar Swalue and Thomas Stöckli.
Read on for more information from the brand:
On wins the prestigious Design Prize Switzerland
The Swiss sports company On and designer Thilo Alex Brunner win the prize for best product design.
The young Swiss sports company On wins the prestigious Design Prize Switzerland. Thilo Alex Brunner, one of the most successful upcoming Swiss designers, impressed the international jury in the category Product Design Market.
“The award is a big recognition for Thilo Alex Brunner and for On”, explains David Allemann, co-founder of On. “In the tradition of functional and sleek Swiss design, the visual language of On is as unique as its groundbreaking technology. Function and form have been winning over elite athles and casual runners alike. Thilo has given On a face that is a radical departure from the crowded design of conventional running shoes.”
The high-calibre jury with Liesbeth in’t Hout, Ascan Mergenthaler, Jasper Morrison, Lars Müller and Robb Young selected from 300 entries. The jury about the winner On: “The market for running shoes is overcrowded and hotly contested – so when a new brand comes along and takes the market by storm, the innovation behind it must convey a promise which it manages to keep – a shoe with qualities never heard of before.
In this case a clever design idea has proved capable of competing against the million-strong budgets which the big brands in the industry assign to research and marketing. The straightforward design of the shoe deliberately refrains from indulgence in stylistic frills, and is wholly consistent in focusing on the basic functional requirements. The attention is drawn to the sole, which here constitutes the crucially important element.”
Land soft but push off hard – this is the radically new idea of On’s patented technology and far from self-evident. The merely three year old Swiss company is able to combine the best of soft yet slow training shoes and fast yet hard racing flats.
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on the soles win Swiss design prize appeared first on Dezeen.
In our second movie with Tom Dixon filmed earlier this year in Milan, the British designer discusses his foray into fashion design and says that his capsule collection for sports brand Adidas is based on the idea of creating a personal survival kit for Milan design week.
“I’m doing a collaboration with Adidas,” says Dixon in the movie. “So I am now no longer a lighting designer, I am a fashion designer, okay?”
“That’s been a fascinating experience of diving into a much bigger infrastructure and going in there with a very naive view but also a very different view on sportswear.”
He adds: “It’s been a riot working in this completely new playground of a different typology of goods, in which I can use some of the same ideas but in a completely new world.”
Dixon’s collection, which was on display amongst the steam trains at Milan’s Museum of Science and Technology as part of MOST, includes underwear, trousers, shirts, shoes and waterproof jackets that fold easily and can be packed efficiently. Dixon also designed a coat that doubles up as a sleeping bag.
“Adidas started off with a bag and then I thought, I’m not just going to do a bag, I’m going to fill that bag with everything that I need for Milan,” Dixon explains.
“So I started thinking about my personal problems. I always forget to pack the right number of pants or socks, or I forget that there’s going to be a volcano and I’ll get trapped in Milan and so I’ll need a sleeping bag [a reference to the 2010 volcanic eruption in Iceland, which suspended air travel for weeks].”
He concludes: “All of those adventures I had in Milan went into that collection. It’s as much as I can fit into a carry-on bag on a low-cost airline, with everything that I need for a week away.”
See all our Milan 2013 coverage »
Watch our Dezeen and MINI World Tour video reports from Milan »
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I am a fashion designer” – Tom Dixon appeared first on Dezeen.
As a longtime believers that loungewear can be both stylish and acceptable outside one’s home, LA’s Publish is excited to see the current “comfy-boy” phenomenon continue to strike certain corners of the menswear world. So, to…
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Matthew Nurse, director of Nike Sport Research Lab, takes Dezeen behind the scenes at the laboratory where Nike tests new technologies and introduces us to Hal, a sportswear-testing robot that perspires as he runs.
Nike Sport Research Lab is part of a sprawling campus just outside of Portland, Oregon, where the American sports brand is based.
Nike has developed and invested in a range of different technologies to monitor how athletes move, the pressures exerted on their bodies when they do, and what effects different products have on them.
“We can objectively quantify athletes in motion, the environments they play in and the demands of the sport,” Nurse explains.
“We can quantify and understand Nike’s different product innovations, how they affect athletes in the way they perform, the way they’re protected and the perception they have of those different products.”
Nurse demonstrates how, using a combination of motion-capture cameras and a pressure-sensitive plate in the ground, researchers at the laboratory can analyse a sprinter’s motion and the forces they exert as they come out of the blocks at the start of a race.
“We are able to collect the three-dimensional motion of an athlete and from there calculate the power that they produce and the energy that’s produced or lost in the different joints,” he explains.
“[This provides] an understanding of how an intervention [such as a new pair of running shoes] contributes to their overall performance as they do the different movements.”
Nike uses similar technology to monitor the movement of athletes in other sports, such as how a basketball player jumps, twists and lands when scoring a slam dunk.
Nike Sport Research Lab also features a number of sealed environmental chambers, where athletes’ performances and the performance of the clothes they wear can be tested in different atmospheric conditions.
“Our physiology team looks at understanding the body’s regulatory systems, so what happens inside,” Nurse says. “We use that information to quantify things like thermal temperature, to understand thermal regulation and skin wetness as athletes run and move and perspire.”
One of these environmental chambers is home to Hal, a marching humanoid that Nurse describes as “a copper sweaty mannequin,” which allows Nike to test the permeability and breathability of new sportswear.
“Hal is very sophisticated,” says Nurse. “We can set the environmental chamber to different conditions, whether it’s temperature or humidity, and as he moves he actually perspires. It allows us to understand how different constructions or different methods of making affect the permeability of the garment, which is ultimately going to affect the comfort of the athlete and also the thermoregulation of that athlete. He’s an invaluable tool for us.”
With products such the Nike+ FuelBand and Nike+ running shoes, which collect data about the wearer’s exercise routines via a mobile phone application, Nike has already started to commercialise some of the basic technology developed at Nike Sports Research Lab. Nurse says that there is more to come.
“The technology is becoming ubiquitous and the ability to capture the information we collect is getting more and more robust,” he says. “The willingness of different groups to spend money on the kind of tools we have is also growing. The tools that we have are going to be more and more available.”
However, Nurse believes that data alone is not necessarily that useful. How you interpret that data is more important, he says.
“As data becomes ubiquitous and it becomes all-encompassing and all-informing, [Nike’s] competitive advantage is the knowledge we have of how we apply that data to build unbelievable product. With that we’re unsurpassed in the world.”
Looking to the future, Nurse believes that individually customisable designs will become a reality, as will “smart” materials that can adapt to different conditions.
“As we move into the future, I think there are two major frontiers,” he says. “One is individualised product or prescriptive product for individuals. Medicine is already starting to head in that direction and I think ultimately we will also.”
He continues: “We build unbelievable product that works for a wide range of people, but as we start to slice that thinner and thinner, to capitalise on making athletes better, our ability to individually prescribe different products for different people is going to get more robust and is also going to get much more important.”
“Secondly, material that adapts to different movements or different environmental conditions is also going to be important.”
Nurse is confident that Nike will be leading the way in developing these products. “I know that the folks in both the footwear and apparel innovation teams are well aware of what is cutting edge and are pushing the boundaries,” he concludes.
See our story about the new Nike Free Hyperfeel running shoe »
Watch our movie about the Nike Flyknit Racer »
See all our stories about Nike »
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a copper sweaty mannequin” appeared first on Dezeen.
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