Offering the highest degrees of dynamism and lightweight flexibility has always been one of the prerogatives of Nike designers. In the last few years, though, the brand has tried to go even further, pushing the boundaries of the lightweight design approach by studying natural motion, and coming up with new technologies, such as the Nike Free and the Nike Flyknit, that can offer athletes the comfort of barefoot running combined with the highest performances.
To launch the new Nike Flyknit Racer, Nike HTM Flyknit Trainer+ and Nike Free Inneva Woven trainers, designed to mimick the natural biomechanics of the foot and characterised by one-piece knit uppers made with multiple yarns threaded through a knit machine to seamlessly integrate support, breathability and stretch, the brand recently commissioned a special installation to different digital artists.
Entitled The Art + Science of Super Natural Motion and launched during the latest edition of Milan Design Week, the installation revolved around the themes of fit, flexibility, elasticity and movement, and featured Universal Everything, Daniel Widrig and Quayola + Sinigaglia.
All the artists involved mixed technology, design, art and sport together: multidisciplinary studio Universal Everything explored movement with a 3D interactive experience based on generative design that allowed the viewer to manipulate intricate strands of colour with the sweep of an arm (image 3 in this post); artist, architect and designer Daniel Widrig employed animation software to create snapshots of an abstract geometric figure moving in a 3D space that reconfigured and expanded while accelerating (images 5, 6, and 7); sound and visual duo Davide Quayola and Natan Sinigaglia presented an abstract digital sculpture, a combination of audio-visual performance, drawing, photography and video programming (image 4).
The Art + Science of Super Natural Motion will be travelling to Tokyo, New York and London until October 2013.
You're an architect, designer and artist, did you find it challenging to combine together in this project your work with sport?
Daniel Widrig: The brief for the project was an abstract one. We tried to work with the ideas of motion and flexibility on a conceptual rather than literal basis using them as catalysts for the generation of an object. Both motion and flexibility are themes we have worked on before, although in different contexts and scales. Together with Nike we developed the idea of a sculpture that not only captures or freezes motion but that has the potential to define a new, supernatural kind of motion.
Which parameters linked to the sport field inspired your installation?
Daniel Widrig: The main drivers for the projects were the concepts of motion and flexibility. In order to develop a piece that has its own character while representing new and unexpected ideas of motion and flexibility it was important not to get too literal on a metaphorical level.
What kind of software did you use to create this animation?
Daniel Widrig: The geometry was generated through blending components from quite a few different simulation, 3D modelling and engineering applications. In order to materialise the object we then worked with programs to translate the three-dimensional mesh into a solid object in order to 3D print it.
3D and animation software are linked with parameters and algorithms, while the new Nike trainers are made with a mix of multiple yarns that are threaded through the knit machine to guarantee a dynamic silhouette and shape. While working on your project did you ever draw any comparison between the modus operandi of a designer working with animaltion software and the actual product?
Daniel Widrig: We studied the Nike Free Inneva Woven project in detail and that was really interesting. It is rare to see an industrial product blending handcraft and industrial production to such perfection. In our studio we are not only experimenting digitally; we are pretty much interested in creating physical output and always like to look into other fields in order to develop new ideas. So in terms of design and manufacturing the shoe was quite a source of inspiration during the development of the project. Besides, weaving and knitting are based on algorithms as well and the development of a shoe is a highly parametric process.
Nike Flyknit Racer, Nike HTM Flyknit Trainer and Nike Free Inneva Woven: which is your fave one and why?
Daniel Widrig: I own a pair of Nike Free Inneva Woven and I really like them in terms of their performance. In terms of looks I really love the Flyknit Racer Multi-Color as the coloration really accentuates the complexity of the knit.
All images and video courtesy of Nike
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