Nike is all set to give fans a reason to spook up the neighborhood this Halloween with the introduction of not one but two eerie edition kicks. Just earlier this month, the Swoosh company took wraps off the Halloweenized model of the Air Force 1 Low, and now we are here with the Nike Dunk Low “Halloween,” offering a frightful take on the court favorite.

Designed with the scary style statement, not specifically for the court alone; the street-smart Dunk Low silhouette captures the spirit of Halloween very nicely with Bright Cactus, Black, and Green Curry colorway, embellishing the cracked leather upper and other unnerving antics of the pair.

Designer: Nike

Designed for the holiday with its “Halloween” color scheme, the limited-edition Dunk Low Halloween, carries many fan-favorite aspects to give the creeps. First up, the cracked leather upper contrasts with a molded skull motif (with a 3D effect) on the black toe box. The shoe is marked with eye-catching textured black material on its tongue and the laterals while orange laces and the gum soles give the shoes a vintage aesthetic.

The look is completed with a long-molded Swoosh logo appearing in the same color and material as the toe box. This look of the Dunk Low is not very different from the Black and Crimson colorway of the Nike Air Force 1 Low “Halloween” iteration which carries a similar human skull modeled on the toe box. This is not a coincidence; Nike wants the season’s spooky spirit to flow down the customers with the same highlight.

That said, the Dunk Low Halloween is not just tweaked with seasonal appropriateness to blend festive flair with sneaker culture. It has been dealt with all the aspects of the lineup to ensure there is no compromise in comfort. For the interested ones, the Nike Dunk Low Halloween is slated for release on October 26, 2024. It will be available via Nike SNKRS and a few other retailers starting at $130. Nike Air Force 1 Low Halloween will also hit the market around the same time for a starting price of $140.

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Early Mechanical Shox Prototype (1981) from the Department of Nike Archives

Nestled in an unassuming building, Nike’s top-secret design archive, known as the Department of Nike Archives (DNA), houses a treasure trove of over 200,000 rare artifacts. From never-before-seen sneaker prototypes to the original Nike “swoosh” sketch, the DNA is a sneaker lover’s paradise. Recently, the DNA opened its doors to curators for the first time, leading to the creation of the groundbreaking exhibition, “Nike: Form Follows Motion.” For the first time, Nike has opened its doors to a select group of curators who have scoured these holdings to create an exhibition at the Vitra Design Museum in Germany. The exhibition offers a rare glimpse into the brand’s history and design philosophy.

Set to run from September 21, 2024, to May 2025, the exhibition is the first of its kind dedicated solely to Nike. It traces the company’s journey from its founding in 1964 to its current position as the largest apparel company in the world. Curated by Glenn Adamson, who also co-edited a book to accompany the exhibition, the show seeks to explore Nike’s unique approach to design. According to Adamson, Nike’s design thinking is intensely creative and complex, rivaling that of any other company in the industry. The exhibition is structured into four chronological sections, each representing a significant phase in Nike’s evolution.

“Nike: Form Follows Motion” is divided into four chronological sections: “Track,” “Air,” “Sensation,” and “Relation.” The first section, “Track,” offers a look at Nike’s early years when jogging was a niche activity. This period is marked by the brand’s first product innovations, including the release of the waffle-soled trainer in the early 1970s. The next section, “Air,” covers Nike’s expansion into sports advertising, bolstered by high-profile partnerships with athletes like Michael Jordan. The “Sensation” section focuses on Nike’s extensive sports research programs, highlighting the brand’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of performance wear. Finally, the “Relation” section reflects on Nike’s history of collaborations with external designers, showcasing the brand’s willingness to embrace new ideas and technologies.

To create this exhibition, Adamson made several trips to the DNA, where he had access to materials that had never been publicly displayed. The archive itself is unremarkable from the outside, but inside, it’s a veritable wonderland for sneaker enthusiasts. The space is filled with moving shelves, each stacked with shoeboxes containing some of Nike’s most significant designs. Among the highlights are prototypes of the Air Force One that never made it to market and the original stock of the Air Max shoe, known for its revolutionary see-through soles designed by aeronautical engineer Frank Rudy.

Sketch of Air Max, Tinker Hatfield (1986)

The exhibition also features deadstock shoes and prototypes that have remained hidden in the DNA until now. These include early mechanical prototypes of the Shox line, which featured external shock mounts designed to improve athletic performance. Adamson describes one such prototype as a “Frankenstein object,” a bizarre yet fascinating piece of Nike’s design history that had to be included in the exhibition (image at the beginning).

In addition to these historical artifacts, the exhibition also offers a keen insight into Nike’s current design practices. One of the most impressive innovation centers is the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL) in Beaverton, Oregon. The 85,000-square-foot facility is equipped with cutting-edge technology, including hundreds of cameras and dozens of force plates that track athletes’ movements. The insights gathered from this research are used to develop new products like the Vapormax running shoe, which is one of Nike’s most studied shoes to date.

Nike: Form Follows Motion comes at a crucial time for the company. In recent years, Nike has faced challenges, including supply chain issues and increased competition from other running shoe brands like Hoka and Brooks. Despite these obstacles, Nike remains committed to innovation. The company recently launched an AI platform called Blackbox to aid in the design of new products. According to CEO John Donahoe, Nike is poised to make a comeback with bold, new releases that will once again set the standard in the industry.

via Fast Company

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Ever since Marty McFly first showed off the idea of self-tying shoelaces in Back to the Future, the footwear industry has been trying to figure out how to turn that fantasy into a reality. As the brand that actually made the movie prop, Nike has been at the forefront of that endeavor and has, in fact, already launched a few pairs of “self-lacing” sneakers years ago. It may have been a hit back then because of its novelty, but the shoe company no longer found any reason to make new ones or to continue supporting the ones that already exist. In fact, it just announced not only the discontinuation of this unique Adapt BB line but also of its app, which will leave some owners rethinking their purchase.

Designer: Nike

“Self-lacing sneakers” are not as magical as they might sound, simply utilizing magnets and electronics to tighten or loosen the shoes. For the Adapt BB line that launched in 2019, you could do this, along with other functions, by pressing buttons on the side of the shoes or, more conveniently, using a smartphone app. That app also provided settings you can’t very well make on the shoes themselves, particularly changing the colors of the buttons’ lights or saving three preset tightness settings.

Nike, however, has discontinued its self-lacing sneakers, and on August 6th, it will also be dropping its mobile apps. Owners of Adapt BBs don’t have to panic, at least not yet, because they can still install the app until that date, and the app will stay installed on their phones even when it disappears from Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. That does mean, however, that you can no longer install or even transfer the app after that day, so if you lose your phone or change devices, you’ll be out of luck.

Fortunately, the shoes themselves will continue working even without the app, but it will mostly be a manual affair without some conveniences. You will not be able to change light colors anymore, for example, and there will only be one preset remembered. You can, however, still tighten or loosen the shoe by pressing the buttons, which require you to bend over like any ordinary shoe. It might still seem a bit advanced, but no longer as mind-blowing as the original.

The announcement, however, does bring a few concerns and questions to mind. For one, the Adapt BB will lose one of its biggest appeal: its accessibility for people who might have difficulty lacing and unlacing sneakers. It also paints a somewhat dubious future for smart wearables like these. While people are used to changing phones almost every two years and for manufacturers to drop support sooner rather than later, most of us keep our wardrobe and footwear until they’re no longer usable, and manufacturer support is rare if not unheard of.

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Like precaution is better than cure in everyday life, warmup and recovery before and after a strenuous workout or competition are equally important. Nike has over decades made life immensely comfortable for athletes with the most relaxed footwear options. Now, it is tying up with Hyperice to ensure that the warmup and recovery phases in a player’s life are also taken care of by the Swoosh brand with equal prowess.

To that accord, in collaboration with Hyperice, – a name providing athletes with innovative technology during recovery to improve the performance of muscles and joints – Nike is working on developing a pair of boots and vest that would “help athletes perform at their best throughout training and competition.”

Designer: Nike

Nike and Hyperice boot and vest, Tobie Hatfield, Senior Director, Nike Athlete Innovation informs, “get the body ready for activity, whether you’re playing for a title or you’re on your feet a lot at work.” An extension of Nike’s focus on the integration of wearable technology in its products, these pair of boots would provide the wear with heat and dynamic air compression at the feet and ankle, which feels like a foot massage. This prepares the body before a workout and can relax the feet after a long stressful game or if the person has been on the foot for too long.

The Nike and Hyperice vest is designed to monitor and maintain the body temperature of a player. For this, the vest is integrated with thermal modules and pressure sensors that work in tandem to ensure effective heating and cooling of the body. Both the vest and the shoes are still under development and will be launched at a “later date,“ Nike confirms.

The pair of high-top shoes, push the boundary of what’s possible for today’s athletes, with air Normatec bladders and warming elements. The air bladders inflate and deflate – what feels like a massage – and allow the heat to distribute evenly and deep in the feet and ankle to provide soothing comfort to the wearer’s feet. Of course, the shoes are primarily targeted at the athletes, with the likes of LeBron James testing them, the adaptation of technology could be beneficial for people whose work requires them to stand and walk too much.

“From the moment I tried the Nike x Hyperice boots and vest while they were still in development more than a year ago, I knew they were going to change the game for athletes’ warm-up and recovery,” LeBron James notes. It is worth noting that the heat and air compression in the Nike x Hyperice boots are customizable. The user can synchronize the heat and compression with the push of a button (at the control panel placed on the midsole), and can even choose to run different settings on individual shoes, if required.

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