The Year In Footwear Has Not Been Everything We Predicted

Trying to make sense of a wild six month stretch with the benefit of hindsight.

HYPEBEAST Features - Go in-depth and learn more about the culture. HYPEBEAST Features July 11, 2020 The Year In Footwear Has Not Been Everything We Predicted Trying to make sense of a wild six month stretch with the benefit of hindsight. Christina Hong/Hypebeast Wow. When you look back at the first six months of 2020, that’s all you can really say: Wow. It’s a statement of overwhelming shock and awe directed at a turbulent year. From the global, life-changing effects of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, to the strong, sustained cries for social justice in the United States and beyond, 2020 will likely be described as the year of the paradigm shift in hindsight — and that paradigm shift extends into the world of footwear. Back in January, 2020 looked to be a fertile period for boundless innovation and strides in sustainability as well as a launch pad for the revival of classic styles. At the time, we thought that the Olympics would serve as a springboard to launch new innovations, and “sustainability” simply meant shoes crafted from recycled materials. Some of our predictions have already come to fruition, some are egregiously incorrect — in all fairness, we never purported our speculations to be perfect — but all are still potent talking points, just as they were in January. Dashed Olympic Dreams Even before the Tokyo Olympic Games started, brands from Nike to adidas and KITH were certain that they’d serve as the perfect backdrop for performance and lifestyle products alike. However, the chance to light the torch and dash out ahead of the pack to start the decade was quashed when the Games were postponed until 2021. Although the release cycle largely churned on, many products were unable to have the proverbial red carpet rolled out for them in the way that their manufacturers would have liked. Take, for example, Nike Running’s Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%. Touted as the “world’s fastest running shoe,” it helped the great Eliud Kipchoge become the first man to break the two-hour marathon barrier in October 2019, and boasted tech so potent that it was nearly banned by World Athletics (formerly known as the IAAF). At the Olympics, the Alphafly NEXT% was set to lead Nike’s slate of running footwear thanks to a stacked stable of Swoosh-sponsored track and field athletes. It was still released on time and managed to be a success sales-wise, but its overall cultural impact — and therefore, its place in sneaker history — was blunted due to its lack of Olympic track time. This postponement also gives adidas and other footwear brands an extra year to catch up. By the 2021 Olympics, it’ll have been almost two years since Kipchoge’s sub-two hour marathon, and Nike may be looking for a new form of innovation. An all-out sprint to the finish line in Tokyo seems inevitable, and adidas Running even upped the ante in recent weeks with its new Adizero Pro, a shoe that takes carbon fiber plate technology in a bold new direction with carbon-infused rods embedded in its midsole. Even NEXT% itself is expanding off the track, with everyday models like the Tempo NEXT% set to make a debut in the latter half of 2020. How much faster can running shoes get? We’re about to find out. That’s not even mentioning the delay of skateboarding’s Olympic debut, the myriad of special apparel and footwear that are usually centered around each Olympic Games and much more. Any way you slice it, the postponement hurt — both from a brand and from a fan standpoint. Innovation Deviation Back in January, cutting-edge tech was regarded as adidas’s 4D-printed Futurecraft or Nike’s power-lacing Adapt. 2020 looked as if it would be a year of boundless innovation, but the immediacy of COVID-19 and the sudden crush for PPE it necessitated meant that brands needed to innovate in new ways: ones that protected and bolstered frontline healthcare workers. Long-term innovation is never truly on the backburner for a footwear company, but in the first half of 2020 short-term innovation became much more important. Thankfully, companies were up to the challenge. Shifting resources and manufacturing from consumer goods to necessary equipment became an industry norm. Nike produced and distributed face shields built from Air components, part of a 140,000-piece equipment donation. adidas followed suit, using its advanced printing methods to create face shields of its own. New Balance refitted its factories to crank out tens of thousands of masks. Under Armour threw its hat in the ring as well, and at this piece’s date of writing has supplied 4.64 million masks plus 116 thousand gowns to medical professionals. Brooks helped in another fashion, giving 10,000 pairs of sneakers to hospital workers. By joining in the fight against COVID-19, footwear brands partook in some of their most impactful innovations yet — servicing needs instead of wants. Will this become the new norm? The next few months may prove to be very telling. READ THE FULL ARTICLE ON HYPEBEAST → More HYPEBEAST Features FASHION Willi Smith Made Streetwear Before The Word Existed GAMING What Does a Game Owe to Its Player? Get The App Free on iOS and Android Follow 2020 HYPEBEAST Limited. All Rights Reserved Manage Subscriptions You are receiving this email because you have subscribed to HYPEBEAST's marketing emails. You can unsubscribe from us any time by clicking here. It may take 48 hours to complete the unsubscribe process. 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