Six and a half years ago, Jay Meschter, founder of Flywire running shoes and creative director of Nike's innovation team, had only one shoe last. The last used as a shoe model is covered with needles and threads, and the position of the needles and threads is the key point of foot support. This model looks like rope art in the 1970s, but it is pregnant with unknown possibilities. This simple product concept hides a revolution in shoemaking technology.
Engineering fibers are designed in specific parts to form the skeleton or supporting bracket of sports shoes, thus stabilizing the position of the feet. This method subverts the original idea of manufacturing sports shoes: adding more elements to sports shoes to obtain greater support. The innovation team fully understands the development potential of this new product, but unfortunately, there is a lack of an economical way to turn this innovative idea into an actual product. So the project was put on hold until Jay Meschter and his design team finally found that the technology could be put into practice.
A few years later, Jay Mescht found the answer on an ordinary sewing machine in Nike Lab. He found that Flywire can be made by embroidery. Theoretically, the needles of sewing machines can be moved and lifted in all directions to form long stitches required by new technology. Of course, it's not that simple. Embroidery machine must be disassembled and rearranged to get the design effect that Jay Meister wants.
Using the method of sewing directly through the upper (instead of using the big jump needle) will only create side decoration with no practical effect. Long stitching means that the upper structure is completely composed of thin lines. Flywire has greatly reduced the weight of sports shoes, and it also represents the official end of the shoemaking era supported by multi-layer materials, because the latter will only increase the weight and reduce the elasticity of shoes.
At the initial stage of R&D, the design team began to cooperate with biomechanics experts from Nike Sports Research Laboratory (NSRL), who put adhesive tape on the designer's feet. Jeff Pussiau, a researcher at Nike Sports Research Laboratory, is fascinated by the idea of creating extra ligaments to drive foot movements, because ligaments can make joints work in the right direction. He explained: "We wrap our feet with adhesive tape from the bottom to the heel, which can provide stability on the side of our feet. With the help of this method and anatomical principle, we can design flying wire fibers at suitable positions. 」
The precise distribution of Flywire ligaments means that the upper is just like the second layer of skin. The function of the upper material is only to prevent stones and sand from entering, and all the support is provided by slender fiber threads. The new sports shoes can also solve the problem that has not been solved for a long time: slippery feet.
When people walk or run with their shoes on, their feet will slip at every step. Although it's only a millimeter, many a mickle makes a mickle during the whole competition. According to the stride of 1 m, after 1000 m, it will slip 1 m. Usually, the gap between the first place and the third place in the competition is often less than 1 meter. Therefore, this figure must not be underestimated.
Jay Meschter pointed out: "Flywire fills the neglected support part that touches the sole of the foot, which makes people forget the existence of shoes. Nike took a big step towards Ballman's goal. Ballman once said when he was a coach that the ideal running shoes should go through the feet like nails. Although the current Flywire is not as extreme as nails, it does make the shoe support plate as close to the foot as possible. This technology was first applied to the following sports shoes series, such as track and field running shoes Nike Zoom Victory Spike, Nike Zoom Victory+, Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoes and so on.