Handcrafted 24-carat gold sport shoes made of crocodile-skin went on sale for $20,000 at Dubai’s Sole DXB footwear fair at Level Shoes .
The uppers were made from crocodile skin immersed in 24K pure gold. The crocodile’s tongue was used with the delicately hand stamped Athletic Propulsion Labs logo. These limited edition made-to-order shoes are personalized with the owner’s name detailed on the inside of the shoe. The shoes take 12 weeks from order to delivery.
EasyJet released a pair of smart shoes featuring the airline’s signature orange. The Sneakairs are designed to help travellers explore new cities by giving vibration cues through the soles when it’s time to turn. The high flying kicks were equipped with Google Maps integration.
Back in 20111, low-cost carrier airBaltic launched the airBaltic shoe in 2011 as an advertising promotion. The tech-free shoes that features a passenger-jet motif caused such a buzz the company ordered a limited batch of 1,000 pairs which you can still buy at 49.90 Euros at the airBalticShop.
As a promotion, Ad agency Eleven, Inc. spent almost eight months with Virgin America designing and executing The Virgin America First Class Shoe. The one-off Italian leather sneakers had a functional Wi-Fi hotspot, LED mood lighting, airline seat belt ankle straps, USB ports and a video screen. The promotional shoes were auctioned off on eBay raising $97,877.77 for Soles4Souls, a not for profit organization that fights poverty by distributing shoes and clothing to those in need.
Keep (as in earning your keep) is an independent apparel company which sells vegan shoes. Former Beastie Boy, Ad-Rock aka Adam Horovitz, has designed a new shoe for the company that will help raise money for Planned Parenthood, Pitchfork, NY.
The "Ramos Ad-Rock" was designed for winter warmth and boasts a primarily black design, accented with magenta laces (reference to Planned Parenthood) and an embroidery of "Horovitz" split between the right and left shoe. The shoe is available to pre-order at $US97 a pair and will ship late February 2017.
Earlier this month, Ad-Rock hosted a rally against hate in Brooklyn's Adam Yauch Park, which was renamed for the late Beastie Boy in 2013 and was recently defaced with anti-Semitic, pro-Trump graffiti.
The German based, AMSilk GmbH supplies synthetic silk biopolymers using a patented biotechnological process, The organic high-performance material can be used in multiple ways, including in medical or technical products as well as cosmetic ingredients.
The protoype adidas Futurecraft Biofabric shoe has an upper made entirely from 100% Biosteel® fibres. The woven upper is high performance for sport, and biodegradable. The lighter shoes (15% less heavy than conventional synthetic fibres) are extremely strong and resist tensile stress, making them ideal for sport. The shoes are still in the development stage but no doubt will in some form be available in the near future.
Nice to think there is a pair of super shoes out there that could turn a couch potato like me into another Usain Bolt. Unfortunately, the truth of the matter is there is not, nor is it likely there will ever be. After millions of dollars have been spent on research and development shoe companies have failed to impact on World breaking records, as witnessed by Rio 2016.
Companies like Nike tirelessly try to achieve the magic elixir by many novel ways which involve the latest technologies but to no real avail. Whilst success in other areas of sports clothing such as swimming and cycling etc., have proved more fruitful field and track shoes remain more or less the same. Shoes remain the most vital piece of equipment an elite athlete has but to date, new models do not shave millimetres of performance records.
Modern sport shoes with their high colourways etc., function mainly as advertising billboards for apparel companies and shoe deals give the means of financing athletes. Usain Bolt (Jamaica), makes $32.5 million a year, including $30 million in endorsements. Far less visible athletes make between $10,000 to $25,000 annually from their contracts with shoe companies, along with prize money and other endorsements. Shoe designers continue to produce shoes which undoubtedly, do not distract athletes from a good performance but despite all manner of comfort and traction tweeking, modern footwear alone will never replace years of training, good coaching and the right body mechanics.
Iofit is a new company hoping to developed golf shoes designed to help improve a golf swing based upon analysis of the wearer's weight transfer.
In the past, swing monitoring technology has largely been the preserve of watches or trackers clipped to the shaft of a golf club. Although systems like that can effectively track the path of a club, there is a lot more to the perfect swing than just the hands. Driving the Iofit system is a set of pressure sensors embedded in the outsole of the shoe. Connected to a companion iOS or Android app, the system uses a posture analysis algorithm to measure changes in pressure distribution as they happen.
The app processes information about which foot is being favoured, whether there is more pressure on the front or rear of each foot, and how weight is being transferred through the ball. Feedback includes elements of your swing that need changing combined with detailed breakdowns of how your data compares with professional golf players. Further options include how to practice an improved swing, and receive feedback on how consistent those practice swings were. Finally, this information can be shared with coaches or friends through the app. Currently, Iofit is seeking US$30,000 on Kickstarter.
Knitted (assembling a shoe's upper by knitting) running shoes i.e., the Flyknit was introduced by Nike in 2012. Acoording to the company it took a decade of research and development to perfect the manufacturing technique.
A year later adidas, introduced their version of the knitted shoe, the Primeknit. Nike immediately filed a patent infringement lawsuit in Nuremberg, Germany seeking to prohibit adidas from making and selling in Germany, The case was filed in and limited to Germany because adidas made and distributed the Primeknit in Germany. The German court granted Nike's injunction and ordered adidas to halt the sale and production of its knitted sneaker. After adidas appealed the ruling it was overturned on the basis the technology involved in making the shoe's knitted upper had been around since the 1940s.
Further Nike’s design patent failed to meet the novelty element required and striped Nike of the right to continue to pursue adidas for patent infringement. Nike’s patent was also deemed invalid in Germany. Both Nike and adidas started selling their respective knitted footwear in the U.S. More legal squabbles continued over the patent ensued in the US, and although these were initially rejected the matter has been referred to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) to decide whether Nike’s invention, in fact, obvious and thus, ineligible for patent protection, among other issues.
Adidas intends return some of its shoe production to the U.S. The “Speedfactory” in Atlanta, Ga. factory is staffed mostly by robots and will produce running shoes. The US Speedfactory will create 160 jobs for human workers. The first Adidas Speedfactory was piloted in Ansbach, Germany and caters specifically to localised demand for customized shoes made out of local materials. According to the company the move toward Speedfactory, is not about replacing traditional production, but instead allowing retailers to order based on current trends and receive product without waiting for shipping from overseas.
Professional basketball players in China are prevented from having private shoe sponsorship after the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) have signed an exclusive five year deal with local brand, Li Ning. Players are now prevented from wearing Nike, Adidas shoes on the court. The ban includes everything from jerseys to shoes. The new sponsorship deal is estimated to be worth $300 million (US) and any player who defies the ban will face suspension according to the CBA.
Problems already arose recently when Yi Jianlian (Guangdong Southern Tigers and former Los Angeles Lakers) complained of sore feet and removed his Li Ning shoes to wear his Nikes during a game. The referee refused to let him back on the court but when he reappeared still wearing his Nike sneakers later in the third quarter, the referee allowed him in the court. He now faces a one match ban. Previously, players were allowed to wear their personal sneakers but only with the logos covered and if they were prepared to pay a fine.
Footnote
In the US, a salary cap limits the amount of money players can earn, but they can benefit from lucrative endorsement deals such as a shoe contract. Many players have a number of sponsorships and are able to significantly supplement their income through endorsements.
