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Sole Searching: Take a Leap Into the Future of Footwear
Footwear Giants Embrace the Digital Revolution
Brittany Potter
October 20, 2023
Welcome to the inaugural issue of JACQUARD, your must-read digest that intertwines fashion, retail, and emerging tech trends.
Each issue delivers the latest essential news, coupled with a deep dive into a unique theme for a fuller, more informative read.
☕ Quick Sip: A snappy brief to give you a heads-up on what to expect in today’s newsletter and an overview of the edition’s focused theme.
📰 Fresh Off the Press: Straight-up latest news, zero fluff.
🔍 Under the Hood: A deep dive into the chosen theme with a curated collection of the latest, most relevant stories.
🧠 Brain Snacks: Insights & Takeaways
🤓 Decode It: Explaining tech terms. Because not everyone speaks Silicon valley, and that’s perfectly fine.
Quick Sip ☕😉
Today’s Theme: The Future of Footwear
Footwear isn’t just about shoes anymore- we’re seeing an exciting blur between the physical and digital realms. Technological innovations are not just changing how we wear shoes, but how we experience, own, and even interact with them. Today we’ll cover…
PUMA X Coperni: dress shoes 🤝 football boot
Moncler X adidas Originals: collab featuring AI-generated adventurers
Nike’s exclusive AF1 TINAJ (This is Not A JPEG)
Manolo Blahnik’s immersive digital archives
Limited-edition Louboutin X Marvel Shoes + NFTs
But First… Fresh Off the Press 🔥📰
Pop-up event in NYC Oct. 20-22
Explore & virtually try on Pat McGrath makeup products using Google’s AR tech
Immersive digital platform launched by Macy’s called “mystylelab”.
Explore a digital world & interact with digital collectibles.
Receive a Macy’s digital collectible item (scarf) upon signup.
Try it for yourself here.
Erik Torstensson used AI to help design Frame’s new Marylebone Village store
Torstensson trained an AI model on a mood board and the AI provided initial sketches of the brutalist tables and chrome sculptures that are now in the store.
Peeka VR creates the first storybook experience featuring Barbie
The experience is called “Barbie: You Can Be a Fashion Designer VR”
Young users can learn about the fashion industry, cut patterns, sew, and stitch in virtual reality.
Available via app in Google Play & Apple App Store.
Under the Hood 🔧🔍
The Future of Footwear 👟
Major footwear brands like PUMA, Adidas, and Nike are fully embracing the future by using innovative technology and featuring futuristic designs in their latest collections.
Ready-to-wear and accessories brand, Coperni, is known for it’s tech forward approach to fashion (👀 see Boston Dynamics robots on the Coperni runway or the spray-painted dress worn by Bella Hadid).
During the “Forms of Attunement” S/S 2024 show in Paris, Coperni integrated futuristic designs and innovative devices like the flat speakers by Transparent, the Humane AI Pin, and 3D printed flowers generated by cymatic production.*
Coperni also previewed the unnamed PUMA X Coperni sneaker which will be available along with the Spring 2024 collection. This particular shoe is engineered to the specifications of a performance football boot & constructed with futuristic tech, all while resembling a dress shoe. (?!?!?!) The collection is set to launch January 2024.
TL;DR: Coperni & PUMA are expecting! New collab coming 2024. The unnamed sneaker has the sporty genes of a football boot + black-tie vibes of a dress shoe.
🌟 Fun fact 🌟 Coperni is named after the astronomer, Nicolaus Coperni, who completely changed our understanding of the universe when he proposed that planets circle the sun.
ALSO Coperni brought some nostalgia to the runway with a 3-D printed CD player bag 💿. The brand’s famous “Swipe Bag” has now been reimagined as a working CD player, complete with USB-C charging.
Extra credit: Watch Humane AI’s pin in action at this viral TED Talk 📺. Also, you can sign up to get priority access to the AI Pin once it’s released on Humane’s website.
What if we design technology to be in service to us, not the other way around? Would it allow us to focus more on our humanity?
*learn more about cymatic production under the “Decode It” section
Moncler and adidas Originals crafted a collection, “The Art of Explorers”, inspired by adventures from mountain peaks to city streets. The collection combines Moncler’s classic aesthetics with adidas Originals’ urban influence. Think puffers, track jackets, and boots that merge both of the brands’ identities.
The campaign features AI-generated adventurers and mixed-media sculptures. Along with the release of the collection comes a digital experience that showcases products from the collection (it’s pretty cool, I recommend checking it out here!)
An NFT version of the Moncler X adidas Originals NMD boot is also available along with the collection.
Check out a video about the making of the collection here.
Calling all sneakerheads! Nike just launched an exclusive Air Force 1 Sneaker. The Caveat? You have to own one of their NFTs.
Nike is bridging digital and physical realms with TINAJ (This Is Not A JPEG). TINAJ is a black-and-white, low-top Air Force 1 that will only be available to .Swoosh members who purchased and virtually unboxed the digital “Our Force 1s”. The shoe is available on the SNKRS app Oct. 20th (TODAY!!).
Go on a journey through Mr.Blahnik’s iconic shoe designs and original sketches with “The Craft”, Manolo Blahnik’s immersive virtual experience. The archives, which date back to the 1970s, contain the stories, sketches, materials, and techniques that have made Manolo Blahnik the iconic footwear brand it is today.
You can experience “The Craft” here. And if you’re looking for an even more tangible experience, physical pop-ups will parallel the digital archive, offering in-person VR Viewings.
Renowned shoe designer Christian Louboutin and Marvel have launched a physical shoe collection with accompanying digital collectibles.
The collaboration manifests as both a tangible capsule collection with limited-edition pieces for men, women, and children, and a not-for-sale NFT experience that comes with each purchase.
Marvel has also launched a comic book with Christian Louboutin as a superhero. Read “The Loubiverse Explodes” here.
This collaboration aligns with Disney’s big 100th Anniversary celebrations.
Brain Snacks 🧠
💡 Insights and takeaways on “The Future of Footwear”
Hybrid innovations: The future of footwear is in hybridization, like how PUMA X Coperni merged the athletic functionality of football boots with formal dress shoes.
Tech-Fashion Fusion: Technology is poised to become an integral part of brands’ marketing and consumer engagement strategy, as we can see through the immersive digital experiences many of these brands are offering (Moncler X adidas Originals, Manolo Blahnik, etc.).
Exclusive Digitization: With Nike’s TINAJ, we saw how digital exclusivity could translate into real-world value. We see the growing significance of NFTs with Louis Vuitton’s collaboration with Marvel, where purchasers aren’t just buying footwear, but exclusive digital art and a sense of belonging to an elite community.
👀 Looking Ahead: Key Trends Set to Dominate the Industry
Smart Textiles: Innovative materials will allow your footwear to sense and respond to the environment. Imagine shoes that change color with your mood or can gather kinetic energy as you walk. Smart textiles= fashion + functionality.
Sustainability: As consumer values shift towards sustainability, expect to see an uptick in shoes crafted from recycled materials along with brands adopting more energy-efficient production methods.
With both of these, technology will be the driving force. Advanced manufacturing techniques will enable the integration of smart tech while paving the way for sustainable practices.
For marketers and brand strategists, understanding these trajectories is crucial. Consumers aren’t just looking to buy shoes; they’re looking to buy into a brand’s values and the larger global narratives they support. Campaigns will need to be tech-savvy, eco-friendly, and deeply human-centric.
Decode It 🤓
🔊 Cymatic Production
What is it?
Cymatic production is a technique that uses sound vibrations to manipulate particles on a surface. This creates a pattern which can then be turned into a physical object using a printer.
How is it used?
In the case of the Coperni show, the sound vibrations were used to bounce particles on a plate. These particles were then arranged into the shape of a flower due to the sound frequencies used. That pattern was then captured and used as a blueprint for the 3d printer.
NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)
🖼️ What is it?
An NFT is like a digital collector’s item. Imagine having a unique certificate that proves you own a specific piece of art, or, in the case of some fashion brands, a digital version of an item like a shoe or watch.
How is it used?
Brands like Nike and Christian Louboutin are using NFTs to give customers special digital items when they buy physical items, or vice versa, making the purchase more exclusive and fun.
📺 NFT Explained in 5 Minutes YouTube Video
That’s it for this edition of JACQUARD! Thank you for being one of my first readers, it means so much to me!
If you have thoughts, questions, or ideas you’d like to share, please don’t hesitate to hit ‘reply’! I want to provide as much value as possible so I would LOVE any kind of feedback.
Until our paths cross again!
Brittany