BLUE CHILL SOLAR RED
Many classic Nike shoes were born from a simple desire: to make running and walking more comfortable. The Nike React Element 87 is one of those shoes that also owes its geometric design to the data extracted from everyday athletes.
The work on the shoe began with people who perform pressure map tests that walk heavily throughout the day. These maps show the points at which the feet experience the greatest fatigue when traveling, running errands and others. The designers then drilled holes at these points in the soles of the shoes and repeated the process with the Nike React foam for comfort.
Pressure maps not only informed how the shoe would feel but also how it looks now. The wave-shaped arches simply looked great. Nike's sportswear innovation designer, Darryl Matthews, used them to create an algorithmic pattern that could be applied to the outer sole, using a curvilinear deboss that communicates the movement.
As for the shape and materials of the shoe, Matthews was inspired by the original Nike Internationalist of 1983 (the tongue, toe and heel) and the translucent textile and asymmetric tongue of the Zoom Zoom SP top of the year past. Combined with suede details, the Nike React logo and rubber sole sheaths, the shoe represents a powerful intersection focused on the performance of the old and the new.
