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words & photography // Nick DePaula
The standard signature footwear process across the industry can take anywhere from 14-18 months long. For some shoes, like the Air Jordan XX3, designers and developers will begin working as much as two years ahead on the project.
As you can imagine, that timeline will bring along many variations, tweaks and adjustments along the way. It’s a process, for sure.
For the new KD 8, Nike Basketball Design Director Leo Chang set out in the Fall of 2013 to begin working on Kevin Durant’s eighth signature shoe, slated for a Summer 2015 launch almost two years ahead.
Follow along for a snapshot of the many samples during the process. For more on the KD8’s design and development, be sure to check out our exclusive interview with Leo Chang.
Fall 2013
From the onset, Leo Chang and the team was looking at incorporating a woven upper with a series of Flywire cables engulfing the forefoot of the shoe for added support.
That led the team down the path of creating this size 14 early weartest pair to test a three cabled forefoot lockdown system. With the KD 8’s platform not yet created, this upper test in 2013 simply used the existing KD 6’s bottom. You’ll also see a fully woven upper pattern below, with the three gaps in the pattern for where the Flywire cables run through.
December 2013
After receiving solid feedback on the above weartest sample, the Nike Basketball team once again tested a new upper configuration atop the KD 6’s tooling. This time around, the forefoot featured a series of visible and floating dynamic Flywire cables for a more unique look.
The shoe’s laces looped directly through the Flywire, allowing for the tongue to actually be attached a bit higher, in hopes of moving any irritation zones away from the where the toe box would flex most.
“We wanted to give that zero distraction and seamless feel, so we moved the vamp and the u-throat ending up higher,” explains Chang. “We put a pocket in there and added the dynamic Flywire cables in there, with some foam to help moderate everything. It feels even more integrated into the package.”
April 2014
With a full year left in the shoe’s design process before the slated Summer 2015 launch date, Leo’s KD 8 design was coming together. This Black / Deep Pewter / Volt sample features a few distinct differences from the final version that would eventually release, but it’s fairly close.
Namely, the heel counter’s banded design would change, with inspiration coming directly from KD’s recently inked sabertooth tattoo. This is the actual sample that Leo Chang added tape to and drew over.
If you look closely at the full-length Zoom Air unit, you’ll notice the heel outsole rubber wrap and two forefoot TPU prongs that were later added in for stability are missing here. An additional fourth Flywire cable loop was also added to the forefoot for more support, while the prior round’s sample featured three cable loops on each side.
Summer 2015
The final KD 8. The shoe’s outsole now wrapped over the full-length Zoom Air unit along the lateral side of the heel, and two plastic prongs now encased the forefoot for some added support on landings and toe-offs.
The upper’s woven Flyweave pattern changed slightly through the collar, while the four lateral and three medial Flywire cable configuration remain unchanged from the prior sample. All part of the process.
