THE FUTURE AESTHETIC OF FOOTWEAR An exploration of footwear innovation lemanoosh.com
Vouge France
Gina Mannell
Dezeen.com
OVERVIEW MACRO TRENDS
Throughout this report I will be investigating the footwear industry to discover what specific trends will be driving the the future aesthetic within footwear. To forecast and map the future of footwear I will be looking into past innovations, customer behaviour, current trends and changes within social economies and globalised cultures. By exploring all these areas related to the footwear industry I aim to establish what innovations could be driving and shaping the future of footwear in the next 10-20 years.
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CONTENTS History of Innovation
Page 6
Current Innovations
Page 10
Big Innovators
Page 14
Consumer Trends
Page 21
Summary of Research
Page 26
What's Next?
Page 27
Ideas in Development
Page 28
References
Page 32
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HISTORY OF INNOVATION To be able to understand future innovations, it’s important to know what innovations have happened so far to established what took off and can develop into a future innovation.
1917
KEDS PRODUCED THE FIRST MASS MARKET CANVAS TOP SNEAKER
1924
DASSLER BROTHER SHOE. FACTORY OPENED
1936
VITRALE BROMI INVENTS THE FIRST VULCANISED RUBBER SHOE THAT REVOULTIONISED MOUNTAIN CLIMBING
1947
DR MARTENS WERE INVENTED DURING WW2, THEY HAS CUSHIONED SOLES AND DURABLE UPPERS THAT MADE THEM POPULAR
1970
1960
BRIKENSTOCK SANDALS WERE THE FIRST SANDALS TO HAVE SUPPORTING ARCHES IN THE SOLES MAKING THEM COMFORTABLE AND PRATICAL
NIKE EXPERIMENTED WITH RUBBER SPIKES AND CHANGED THE DESIGN OF RUNNING SHOES
1984
ATHLETIC SHOES WERE INTRODUCED STARTING WITH NIKE AIR JORDANS
1986
CHARLES COLE DEVELOPS STEALTH RUBBER FOR CLIMBING SHOES
2012
NIKE. INVENT FLY KNIT TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE FABRIC WASTE
2015
NIKE AND NEW BALANCE ARE THE FIRST TO PRODUCE ATHLETIC SHOES WITH 3D PRINTED SOLES
2016 ADIDAS DESIGN THE FIRST PAIR OF TRAINERS MADE FROM RECYCLED SEA WASTE
2018
UNDER ARMOUR RELEASE THE HOVR PHANTOM AND HOVR SONIC SHOE. WHICH INCULDES SENSORS TO GIVE ATHLETES REAL TIME DATA ON PERFORMANCE
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CURRENT INNOVATIONS
There are many big innovations happening currently within the footwear industry. Such rise in smart footwear such as Xylitol being woven into shoes that uses your sweat to cool down wears feet (Garneau Carbon Team) to Pressure plates in the heel that when you step down locks laces into place (Powerdace) to new innovations in processes and materials.
SMART FOOTWEAR Smart footwear development has become a huge develop since the rise of other technology such as smart phones. Companies are now creating shoes such as shift sneakers are made from materials that changes itself to reflect different wave lengths creating any colour shoe, all of which is controlled by your smartphone. Even Adidas have enables buyers to put their own photos from Instagram onto their shoes available through an app showing the extent new technology affects footwear. Apps and footwear are now going hand in hand as both industries develop is seems like technology will have a profound effect on the future of the footwear industry.
Under Armour
Women's UA HOVR™ Sonic 3 Running Shoes: CONNECTS TO UA MAPMYRUN™: Tracks & analyses your running metrics to help make you a better runner
HIGH PERFORMANCE FOOTWEAR Big footwear players such as Adidas and Nike are always aiming to have the best performance trainers for their athletes so are always leaders in current innovations. The Nike+ has allowed basketball players to track their games via a sensor in the shoe which is collected and fed back through a smartphone app. But while Nike focused on digital tech Adidas worked on the Ultra Boost. The Ultra boost combines the midsole tech ‘Boost’ and PrimeKnit which creates a very high performance shoe as it supports the athlete in all areas. ‘Boost” is made from TPU plastic pellets that is aired and melted together to form a solid springy surface providing high energy return which adds power to the runner. Whereas the Primeknit has been redesigned to provide an adaptive fit to support the ankles as well as being sustainable by only using one thread to knit.
nothingbutsoles.com
3 D P R I N T I N G
3D printing has also taken off within the major sport footwear brands. New balance was the first to create a high performance shoe with a full 3D printed midsole named Zante Generation. By using Selective Laser Sintering they were able to convert the powder material (Dura form) into solid cross sections in layers using the laser. By creating the sole, it allowed for more flexibility, strength, weight and durability. Under armour and Nike also got on-board with the 3D printing technique and in Collaboration is HP Nike were able to create a custom pair of track spikes for sprinter Allyson Felix and now allows them to make and change prototypes in hours instead of months.
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BIG INNOVATORS
Since the big footwear companies seem to be leading the way in innovations the focus of my research lead to me looking deep into Adidas’s and Nike’s ethos reports to find out what innovations they are working on and why. As it can provide insight into why certain innovations are being developed now, and how those elements may effect/ develop innovations after that.
ADIDAS FUTURECRAFT Adidas along side Nike is one of the biggest footwear suppliers globally and since 2015 they have started a new project called Futurecraft that focuses on creating new innovate ways to design their shoes. They have focused on innovation in materials and processes that improve performance for athletes and create a more sustainable brand.
INNOVATIONS UNDER FUTURECRAFT SPEED FACTORY To be able to carry out all the innovations Adidas have planned they needed to design a factory that could support all the designs they are producing. So Adidas has opened ‘Speed factory’ a factory based in Germany that they believe will transform the way trainers are created. The factory contains new high tech machines that are first of their kind, which will revolutionised the manufacturing process and will make the most of raw materials such as plastic, fibres and basic substances. Allowing them to create high tech shoe innovation a more sustainable level. Processes as Computerised Sinceatthe big footwear companies seem to besuch leading the way in knitting,innovations robotic cutting and 3D printing willlead be at frontdeep of the factory the focus of my research tothe me for looking into Adidas’s Nike’s ethoshas reports out what innovations are so and since theand speed factory beentoa find successful innovation in they process working on and why. As it can provide far. insight into why certain innovations are being developed now, and how those elements may effect/ develop innovations after that.
Futurecraft M.F.G
Futurecraft 4D Adidas alongside Carbon have developed a new process called Digital Light Synthesis. The process involves using light to shape a liquid resin with elastic properties into a sole then heat is used to set the material in place. This allows Adidas developers to provide a mid sole that can have different levels of cushioning and stability which means they can create bespoke footwear for athletes. The innovation allows them to address the areas of need for each individual athlete in terms of movement, comfort, cushioning and stability that can improve their performance all of which is now possible with just one component
The Futurecraft M.F.G was the first trainer to be produced in the Speed factory and featured many innovations itself. Included the boost sole and Primeknit upper the shoe was labelled as a high performance running shoe. Created with ARAMIS Adidas was able to scan the foot and tell them where the shoe needs more support and where it didn’t to create the best fit. This information was then used to place patches where the foot needs the most support which also gave the trainer its unique design. This was the first innovation of Futurecraft that combined high performance technology(Boost) with sustainable processes (Prime knit and speed factory)
100% biodegradable materials With the rise of footwear waste Adidas have attempted to tackle this by designing a trainer that is 100% biodegradable. The trainer is made from Bio Steel designed by AMSilk that replicates natural silk allowing for the uppers to be biodegradable. The fibres are also said to be 15% lighter that other traditional fibres and claims to be the strongest fully natural material along with its breathability and moisture management it makes this fibre appropriate for sportswear innovation.
3D printed sole Adidas X Parley As part of their sustainability program Adidas has teamed up with Parley for the ocean and created a trainer of which fibres are made out of upcycled ocean waste. The Ultra boost range has been redesigned using recycled plastic in the shoe laces, heel webbing and lining as well as the sock liner covers. Each shoe is said to be made out of 11 plastic bottles with a 95% recycled plastic upper. And by combining this innovation with the Ultra boost (which already containing innovations such as the Boost sole and Primeknit sock) its created a whole new performance sole that has jumped the mark of the future of sustainable footwear with high performance value. Furthermore, to push the boundaries even further with sustainability and performance Adidas has also prototyped a 3D printed sole made out of melted down fishing nets combined with the recycled plastic upper. This allows the wearer to still have performance footwear that contours their foot which 3D printing provides them but one sustainable for the environment along with the rest of the trainer.
They have also developed 3D printed soles in partnership with materialise. By 3D printing soles it has allowed them to create structures that they couldn’t before and with the ability to print soles is means they are able to custom print shoes to support the wearer.e knit and speed factory)
Tailored Fibres In collaboration with Alexander Taylor Adidas has created a trainer which uppers are made from a single piece of fabric that has been knitted together by machines. By using tailored fibre placement (a technique often used to manufacture electronic components in heated car seats) allows the upper of a trainer to be customised to the wearer. The yarn base and thinner fibre on top when knitted together follow specific patterns and paths to create support and rigidity in an upper depending on what the wearers preference is. This technique was a big development on the Primeknit technology Adidas has already developed and is now used in the speed factories to create millions of shoes in an even more sustainable way.
coolhunting.com
NIKE INNOVATIONS Nike Grind
Trash Talk
Since the 1990s Nike has been collecting all and any athletic shoes to be reused and recycled and along with the scraps from factory this goes into the making of Nike Grind. All elements of the shoes are transformed into a material that makes sport surfaces. The rubber from the outer sole is used in tracks, gym floors and playground surfaces whereas the foam from the mid sole is used in outdoor basketball and tennis courts. While the fibre from the upper is used for athletic padding and equestrian material.
Nike trash talk is all based around using the scraps from the factory to reduce waste. The upper and midsole is use from fabric and foam scrapped in production. Whereas the outsole using the environmentally friendly rubber that is also used in the Nike Grind material.
Better World Nike is leading the way in sustainability today with their new ethos plan Nike better world. The Ethos is built around designing product at the best quality possible while being sustainable. They aim to be a catalyst in sustainable innovation by reusing and recycle waste at each stage of production from manufacturing to the products at the end of their life cycle.
Flyknit Nike doesn’t just focus its innovations around performance they also strive to find solutions that will benefit the athlete, company and world equally. They see a responsibility to provide more sustainable but high performance footwear due to the impact footwear has on the environment. So in 2012 the Flyknit was introduced a once piece upper knitted from one thread. By knitting one upper instead of using panels reduced waste by 60% and provides a seamless upper that is lightweight for the athlete. The innovation benefits both the environment as waste is reduced and the athlete with a shoe that supports all areas that can be tailored to each wearer for different needs.
digitaltrends.com
CONSUMER TRENDS
By understanding consumer trends and behaviour allows companies to predict what product they will want next and allows them to be one step ahead. The benefits of understanding what effects behaviour and trends today is huge. It can give companies an insight of what might effect consumption in the future and allow them to develop their future products around it.
The footwear industry, mostly in performance wear is well known for using customer behaviour to tailor their products. Because of the technology that goes into making high performance footwear developers are always working ten years in advance. Technology innovation can take a number of years to perfect so it's important that companies are ahead in the game and have the innovation ready in time for when the customer requires. But to know what innovations to work on they need to understand what the customer wants which requires understanding their behaviour.
SELF QUANTIFIERS As information becomes more digitised it becomes easier for the average person to measure, monitor and track anything. And many people are using this to their advantage to improve their life by self quantifying it and monitor every aspect. Clothes and devices like the Fit Bit are becoming second skins too many people so they can evaluate their lives and find ways to improve it for a better life style.
society19.com
OPTIMISED SELF Building on from Self Quantifiers people are using this digitised data they collect to create the most optimal version of ourselves. They believe there is no perfect self and there always continual improvement so people who believe in the optimised self are always looking for technology that can aid them in their improvement.
nicheh.com
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KAIZEN LIVING Kaizen living is based around design and consumers being focused on being active rather the passive about what they consume. People who live this lifestyle are always looking for improvement and creating experiences they are in control of.
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH The current behaviour of consumers seems to be based around finding technology that can help improve their lifestyle and give them control. But also seems to have a focus towards being more sustainable and consuming products that help the environment. From looking at current innovations and consumer behaviours sustainability and improving our environment will always be a growing trend. Recent developments of the planet’s state by scientist seem to be having a big effect on the way products are made and the way people consume. A moral panic about the future has arisen as now scientist believes we have entered a new geological period called the Anthropocene meaning human influenced. There has been evidence that the earths systems have been and continued to be altered by humans as we create new developments in science and technology. Since the rise of Fossil fuels, industrialisation and urbanisation we have been threatening the planet as more greenhouse gases, pollution and acidic oceans are appearing. Ever since we have become aware about this period it has become a big moral panic. Preserving the earth and changing the way we live to improve the environment is starting to become a popular way of living. This moral panic seems to be changing the way people consume as we feel as sense of responsibility for causing this destruction. For this reason, the future seems to be heading towards sustainability as we realise this new geological period is our future, and if we don’t start changing our behaviour it's going to have devastating affects on humanity. This also explains why the footwear industry is starting to develop more sustainable innovations as the fashion/ footwear industry is the second most polluting industry on the planet. So major footwear companies are also seeing a sense of responsibility and changing their future footwear products accordingly to help start reducing the pollution being emitted.
WHAT'S NEXT? With the global footwear market predicted to hit $371.8 billion by 2020 there are many ideas for new innovations in development today. For the industry to grow new innovations need to be released when new consumer trends come about so that they remain interested in the brand and consuming. Hence why companies today start to developed future innovations years in advance so that they are ready for mass production of these innovations when the time comes. Currently the top 3 drivers for future ideas is based around eco friendly footwear, new design concepts and a demand for athletic footwear for better performance (optimised self). So developments in smart technology, material innovation, connective fabrics and sustainable alternatives appear to be the main focus for footwear companies who are developing today. witanddelight.com
IDEAS IN DEVELOPMENT Soft Sensor Networks: Due to the rise in self quantifiers companies are starting to develop wearable data that monitors our bodies. They aim to embedded circuits into the uppers and sole of trainers that can be programmed to measure specific data such as heart rate or blood pressure that is set by the wearer. All this data is then sent to an external device such as a smart phone so it can be reviewed and monitored by the wearer.
Leather Alternatives: As eco friendly footwear grows in popularity companies are trying to find alternatives to leather that are eco friendly for the more sustainable consumer. Plant based alternatives such as fruit, palm, mushroom and pineapple are being explored but current these material are to weak making them unsuitable for footwear. However, one company Pinatex has developed a leather alternative from from pineapple leaves. The material takes the fine cellulose fibres extracted from the leaves and blends it together to create a fibre that is then transformed into accessories. But the material still remains non biodegradable and not eco-friendly due to a protective layer is put on top for durability although they are working towards a fully natural alternative.
Biological Interaction: A trend towards using bacteria and natural components to generated interactivity between the wearer and the shoe has taken off in innovation development. New balance has started to develop ideas of a trainer that has a material infused with bacteria that has the ability to realise or contract heat. It works with the body so that when it gets hot panels open to cool the feet and then shut again once cooled. Protocell is also a development by Shames Aden that aims to create 3D printed shoes out of biological material that has the ability to repair and regenerate. But this innovation is atleast 40 years away.
fastcodesign.com
Upon reflection of all my research and analysis of the footwear industry. I believe the future of footwear is heading towards more sustainable innovations alongside technology to enhance performance and wellbeing. With the rise in moral panic surrounding our ecosystem more people are becoming concerned and turning towards a more sustainable lifestyle. Subsequently this means they are going to want products that support their lifestyle hence why the footwear is working on materials and processes that are more sustainable. So that when the demand rises they can provide the products the consumer desire. This links in with people wanting to optimise themselves as we are going into a period of unhealthy behaviour. More people are now wanting to live better lifestyles and want the technology to help them do so. Therefore, drawing from my research into innovations already and the consumer, combining sustainable processes and materials with technological advancements that benefit the wearer is where I believe the future of footwear is heading.
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REFERENCES Current innovation http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3339184/Chameleon-trainers-change-colour-demand-App-changeslook-150-smart-sneakers-using-flexible-e-reader-displays.html https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/adidas-to-letcustomers-put-instagram-photos-on-their-shoes/288.html https://www.dezeen.com/2015/01/22/adidas-ultra-boost-trainer-revolutionise-running-knitted-upper-energy-returnmidsole/ http://news.nike.com/news/nike-hyperdunk-2012 http://news.nike.com/news/allyson-felix-track-spike https://www.newbalance.com/article?id=4041 http://www.economist.com/news/business/21714394-making-trainers-robots-and-3d-printers-adidass-high-techfactory-brings-production-back http://uk.complex.com/sneakers/2016/09/adidas-futurecraft-mfg-ben-herath-interview https://www.dezeen.com/2015/10/07/adidas-creates-3d-printed-futurecraft-soles-to-mimic-runners-footprints/? li_source=LI&li_medium=bottom_block_1 https://www.dezeen.com/2016/11/18/adidas-futurecraft-biosteel-trainers-biodegradable-design-shoes-fashion-news/ https://www.dezeen.com/2015/12/12/adidas-ocean-plastic-3d-printing-eco-friendly-trainers/? li_source=LI&li_medium=bottom_block_1 http://uk.businessinsider.com/adidas-releases-new-parley-ocean-waste-plastic-shoes-2017-4 https://www.dezeen.com/2016/02/11/alexander-taylor-customisable-tailored-fibre-trainers-adidas-industrial-sewingtechinque/ https://www.dezeen.com/2017/04/10/adidas-futurecraft-4d-running-shoes-digital-light-synthesis-carbon/? li_source=LI&li_medium=bottom_block_1 https://www.wewear.org/assets/1/7/101311McConnell.pdf http://www.nikegrind.com/how-its-made http://www.si.com/edge/2014/05/27/nikes-footwear-material-future# http://news.nike.com/news/nike-hp-3d-printing http://news.nike.com/news/nike-flyknit consumer trends: https://www.lsnglobal.com/insight/tribes/view/4567 https://www.cebglobal.com/talentdaily/fasting-monitoring-brainwaves-biohackers-pursue-optimized-self/ http://www.quickwasters.co.uk/blog/category/recycling/ https://www.kaizenfootwear.com/collections/frontpage/products/futuro Future of world http://www.brandchannel.com/2015/07/03/adidas-recycled-shoes-070315/ https://www.pexels.com/search/wind%20turbine/ http://infotainmentnews.net/2016/08/04/vegan-trend/ lemanoosh.com http://freshome.com/2013/08/06/what-makes-a-building-green/ http://anandamarga.org.sg/ Future innovations https://www.geek.com/geek-cetera/11-pairs-of-amazing-future-shoes-1635675/ https://www.stahl.com/en/the-futureof-footwear.htm https://www.dezeen.com/2016/06/09/pinatex-ananas-anam-vegan-leather-alternative-ethical-recycled-pineappleleaves-sustainable-materials-design-camper/?li_...