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Nice Kicks was invited to attend Nike’s Innovation for EveryBody* Event in New York City, where a number of future products were unveiled in epic form. While in town, I was granted what could be one of the greatest opportunities of my career in footwear — the opportunity to sit in on a design class and lesson from Tinker Hatfield himself.
The exclusive group of media and influencers in the class were from around the globe, but despite a number of languages being spoken in the group, the feeling of excitement and energy was universally exuded by those in the class. There was a universally known emotion that filled the space. We all loved sneakers and design.
Before sneaker talk could ever get started, Tinker talked about the power of storytelling and how stories can be told through product. In essence, there is such a thing as a design language that conveys a message.
While I have watched a few videos and heard from a number of others at Nike about Tinker and his designs, inspirations and innovations, nothing could compare to hearing him walk us through the streets of Paris in his story of how the Georges Pompidou Centre inspired one of the greatest shoes of all time – the Nike Air Max 1.
The architect shared his insight into the history of the Pompidou Centre.
Standing in the middle of Paris’ Beaubourg area, the building was erected in 1977 after six years of construction. The colorful seven-story structure stands out from the rest of the city with its exposed concept of running pipes, ducts, and other conduits on the outside of the building. Each type of line and pipe is color coded, setting this building apart from the rest of the area with an immediately distinct visual exterior.
The concept of putting the inner workings of the building on display were what inspired Tinker Hatfield to showcase the Nike’s new Air sole cushioning system. Nike Air arrived in 1979 by way of the Nike Tailwind, but while people could feel the cushioning, it was hidden from view by the midsoles and encapsulated into the cup-soles of shoes. What Tinker wanted to do, however, was to unveil the mystery of Nike Air and put it on display for all to see.
Much like the Pompidou’s forward thinking approach to design was met with strong resistance a decade earlier, so too was Tinker’s idea of making the Air Max unit visible on the Nike Air Max 1 in 1987.
Tinker elaborated about the importance of causing controversy and conversation. The radical idea was polarizing to sell on campus at Nike, with several people in the company firmly against it.
Beyond the internal power struggles to produce a shoe with visible technology was the simple problem of executing the production of the shoes. Tinker discussed the challenges of not only engineering the midsole to have the right strength to withstand a gap, but also the challenge of finding a way to even manufacture the components.
Moving past the concept, politics, and manufacturing challenges, Tinker talked about the colorways that today still are iconic. Once again, Tinker looked to the Pompidou Centre for inspiration with bright and vibrant colors of vivid red and a gleaming royal blue as the full length mudguard colors. Primary colors, yes, but also iconic hues that are to this day presently wrapping the exterior of the Pompidou.
At last, it was time to start designing our own NikeiD with Tinker.
Seated at our desks, we were, but Tinker walked the entire class to spend time with each of us sitting at a drafting table. The special Nike Air Max 1 had a special color palette with tokens of color one could interactively select colors for the different panels just like we were in an art class.
After hearing Tinker’s recollection of the different colors, I was inspired to create an iD that paid homage to the two original colorways we see most often today – White/Red and White/Royal.
With just one pair to create with Tinker, I took the approach to incorporate the colors in a way that balances across the shoes with different paneling and blocking than often seen.
My most daring iD creation? No. The most risk-taking blocking of colors? Nah. But this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to pay homage to the greatest sneaker designer of all time and that is what I wanted to achieve.
I look forward to receiving these which I will share with everyone on the site and social media.
Special thanks to Nike for the once in a lifetime experience.
