Sportswear brand Nike has developed a shoe using a fabric designed by Dutch designer Hella Jongerius.
The Layers fabric was developed for textile company Maharam.
The shoe, which launches at New York design store Moss on 1 April, is one of a series of AF1 shoes created with leading figures from sport, music, art and design.
Here's some text from Nike:
--
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“What if you were given the opportunity to re-imagine the AF1?
We invited 18 innovators from across the world to do exactly that. This is Nike 1World."
Nike 1World is a collection of AF1, created in partnership with global innovators in the fields of sport, music, art & design. Featuring 18 original styles, the Nike 1 World collection will release over the course of eight months and will see the AF1 once again explore new territory.
Nike Sportswear presents the 1 World AF1 by Maharam
Nike Design selected Maharam to participate based on its distinct approach to textiles and its prominence in the world of interior and industrial design, in parity with Nike’s longstanding commitment to invention and innovation.
Maharam’s unique interpretation of the AF1 introduces a silhouette constructed of Layers, a textile created by the Maharam Design Studio in collaboration with Dutch industrial designer Hella Jongerius. Layers, produced in single and double layered variations in 100% wool felt, uses sophisticated full-width embroidery equipment played against artisanal hand-cutting to create patterning, resulting in an “industrial craft” hybrid.
This already complex textile was further engineered to meet the specific needs of the AF1. The result represents a multi-disciplinary undertaking, bridging disparate aspects of industrial design including sports technology, textile design and the conceptual avant-garde.
Layers is included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Cooper-Hewitt.
Releasing in March 2009, the 1 World AF1 by Maharam will be sold exclusively at Moss, the premiere design retailer in the United States, with locations in New York and Los Angeles.
[ABOUT NIKE SPORTSWEAR]
Nike Sportswear is a product line is rooted in the company’s passion for sport while at the same time remixing and improving iconic designs with new technologies. With almost four decades of sport history at its foundation, Nike Sportswear seeks to channel the genuine rebel spirit of Nike’s roots by crafting product that challenges the expected, asking designers to push athletic innovation to its extreme, remixing iconic designs with new technologies and making the best product for today’s needs.
Nike Sportswear Creative Director Richard Clarke describes this interplay as an endless remix that never loses sight of Nike’s mission to innovate: “We do go back in time to revisit some of Nike’s best products,” Clarke says, “But we always keep one foot firmly at the forefront of technology and innovation to maintain performance for our athletes.”
[ABOUT MAHARAM]
The Maharam Design Studio is responsible for the development of Maharam’s extensive textile collection, ranging from re-editions of enduring designs of the twentieth century’s most noted visionaries to fashion-forward concepts fresh off the runway. The Maharam Design Studio maintains a strong focus on new technologies and cultural markers, often finding inspiration beyond the textile industry, including collaborations with industry outsiders. Conceived to foster an open dialogue across varied design disciplines, these collaborative projects also serve to introduce a fresh perspective and unexpected media into the world of textiles.
New York-based Maharam offers a comprehensive collection of textiles for varied interior applications, both commercial and residential. Maharam textiles are available to the trade and through select authorized Maharam retailers.
[ABOUT AIR FORCE1]
A piece of Nike heritage that has transcended sport to become an icon of style, the Air Force 1 has earned its dues over the last 26 years. Seen on the feet of ballers and shot callers both on and off the court, this is one of the most celebrated shoes in sports history. Now AF1 has evolved again by becoming an essential part of Nike Sportswear’s permanent collection of eight icons that will be reinterpreted and remixed with new innovations for seasons to come.
The fine-tuning began with the 25th Anniversary AF1 celebration with premium leathers with rolled edges on the upper, flush seaming, a re-engineered leather interior, a specially shaped cuff and tongue for greater comfort, and a polished deubré, and has continued everyday since.