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Amputee athletes are running faster than ever, thanks to hi-tech carbon fiber sports prosthetics. Now Nike has designed a shoe called the Nike Sole for those prosthetic running blades.
Designed to work with the Össur Flex-Run blade, the Sole was a collaborative effort between Nike and triathlete Sarah Reinertsen. Like a normal running shoe, the Sole has an outsole and a midsole, and grips the carbon fiber blade with a material called Aeroply. Nike’s engineers even devised a clever system to secure the Sole to the blade, using an anchor and a rubber strip.
While it’s easy to dismiss this as either a cynical cash-in or an attempt to grab some good publicity, the Sole shows that a level of social acceptance and technological advancement where formerly insurmountable challenges now have consumer-grade solutions. I think we’re getting closer to the future, folks.
See a video of the shoe in action at Geekosystem. Link
At least in simulation, because they’re covered with artificial turf. But if you like to walk barefoot through grass, Kusa’s flip flops are a step in the right direction.
I’ve never worn crocs, but I’ve heard that they’re comfortable. Now I’m not sure why. This pair was made by an Amsterdam-based artist who goes by the name “Sit.”
Link -via My Modern Met | Photo: Jonathan LeVine Gallery
Seeing a ballerina en pointe is impressive, but not as impressive as it was 200 years ago. Competition among dancers means that everyone trains for dancing on the toes, and the quality of the shoes means that all dancers en pointe look the same. Whitney Laemmli of the University of Pennsylvania says the standardization of slippers was a deliberate method of standardizing ballerinas.
George Balanchine, the charismatic director who ran the New York City Ballet and its School of American Ballet, rethought pointe shoes. He worked with Salvatore Capezio to develop and patent pointe shoes to produced the exact lines of the foot and leg he thought beautiful, and to be quieter and less clunky than earlier pointe shoes. He required all dancers (not just the principals) to go on pointe — and not for a few short moments, but for hours at a time.
Laemmli argues that the new shoes forced dancers’ bodies to move in new ways. Dancers on this pointe regimen developed characteristically long, lean leg muscles. Balanchine also encouraged dancers to let the shoes remake their bodies, including developing bunions that gave the foot just the right line. And as their bodies were remade, dancers became “like IBM machines,” modern and indistinguishable.
Link -via Boing Boing
(Image credit: Flickr user kirikiri)
I’m not big on high heels, even Super Mario heels, but these Breaking Bad Converse are just my speed, although The Walking Dead and Dexter ones are also incredible.
Link Via Geekosystem
Geek girls who have a hard time accessorizing in a way that actually expresses their specific interests are sure to enjoy these sexy and cute Super Mario high heels from Etsy seller and Flickr user MagicBeanBuyer.
Link Via Geeks Are Sexy
Projects like this make me wish I was a better artist, but alas, I think the best hand-painted design I’d be able to come up with would be a smiley face. Oh well, at least us non-artist types can still appreciate looking at these awesome hand-painted Street Fighter shoes.
Construction workers digging a foundation for a supermarket in Camelon, Scotland, ran into what is now an archaeological site. Around 60 pairs of discarded footwear that once belonged to Roman soldiers was found.
The 2,000-year-old leather footwear was discovered along with Roman jewelry, coins, pottery, and animal bones at the site, which is located at the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.
The cache of Roman shoes and sandals—one of the largest ever found in Scotland—was uncovered recently in a ditch at the gateway to a second century A.D. fort built along the Antonine Wall. The wall is a massive defensive barrier that the Romans built across central Scotland during their brief occupation of the region.
In what will most likely prove to be a garbage dump, archaeologists are finding clues to life in one of the “most important Scottish excavations in the last decade.” Link
(Image credit: Martin Cook)
The Twenty-Second Rule of Acquisition says that “A wise man can hear profit in the wind.” He senses opportunities and maneuvers around obstacles with ingenuity. That’s what fashion mogul Kenneth Cole did in 1982, when he was just getting started in the business. He needed to show his shoes at a New York City fair, but didn’t have enough money to get in. He rented a large truck and hoped to park it on the street for a mobile fashion show. But Cole couldn’t get the necessary permit from the Mayor’s office. Only utility and motion picture companies could park trucks for extended periods of time. It was in this exemption that Cole found a way around the permitting problem:
So Mr. Cole decided to do just that — shoot a movie. He filed for a permit to shoot “The Birth of a Shoe Company,” and outfitted his trailer with a director, cameramen (although not all of them had film), and “actresses” who played the “roles” of models, displaying the shoes.
And yes, the shoes were indeed for sale. Kenneth Cole sold all 40,000 pairs of shoes over two and a half days, establishing itself as a force in the fashion of footwear, and giving the company a much needed cash infusion as it expanded toward greater heights.
Link | Photo by Flickr user Kables used under Creative Commons license
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If you thought you had to go back in time to see the shoes Marty McFly wore in Back To The Future II, you’ll be positively delighted by Nike’s release of the 2011 MAG, faithful reproductions of the shoes seen in the film which are being auctioned off to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. If you’re like me, though, and can’t come anywhere near affording the hefty $5000 price tag, you’ll just have to wait until 2015 when Nike releases the real deal version of these shoes, complete with power laces. Now someone needs to get to work on creating a working hoverboard and all of our BTTF fantasies will have come true!
-via Destructoid
Pattern Paper Stilletos by Jennifer Collier
Jennifer Collier of Unit Twelve uses found and recycled papers–patterns, maps, newspapers–to create everyday objects like shoes and cameras. Rather than choosing an item to sculpt then scrounging up the paper for it, Collier works the other way around: “I tend to find items then investigate a way in which they can be reused and transformed.” The results are interesting and a bit whimsical. You can check out more of her work on Laughing Squid, or see it at the Origin Contemporary Craft Fair Sep 22-28. Link
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All About The Shoes Wizard of Oz Stainless Steel Water Bottle - $11.95
On August 25, 1939 the US was introduced to a magical technicolor land known as Oz. What have we learned from one of the best-known films of all time? It’s all about the shoes!
Celebrate the Wizard of Oz with the All About The Shoes Wizard of Oz Stainless Steel Water Bottle from the NeatoShop.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fantastic Wizard of Oz collectibles!
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Remember the Googly eye dress we featured on Neatorama a while ago? Well, the question to what shoes go with that has finally been answered. Behold the Déjà Vu high heel shoes by Christian Louboutin!
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Dress up a plain pair of shoes for a special occasion by making your own Twinkle Toes, colorful ruffles that contain LEDs to show off your fancy footwork. Becky Stern takes you through the process step-by-step, plus a video tutorial. Link -via Laughing Squid
Are your shoes plain, but comfortable? Etsy seller pcbcreations has a solution to both of those problems. These sandals, like the other inventive works in his gallery, are made from printed circuit boards. Link -via DVICE
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After
you're done with these sneakers from Dutch footwear maker OAT
Shoes, don't throw 'em away. Bury 'em in the ground, instead. Don't
worry - you're supposed to do that:
The second-place winner at Amsterdam’s Green Fashion Awards last week, OAT’s “Virgin Collection” is the world’s first line of sneakers that, upon disposal, will biodegrade and sprout trees. The materials—some developed by OAT itself—are all easily broken down, and tree seeds packed in the lining will hopefully leave saplings where your sneakers once stood.
Don’t get too excited, hippies. This video made the rounds today with explicit “this is real” remarks that initially had me a little bit giddy with the Rube Goldbergesque idea of first breeding super-pigeons, then training them, then convincing every customer to send photographs of themselves, cities and homes to Jojo, all to avoid shipping shoes via freight or traditional carrier. I wanted to believe it, I did. But a disclaimer at the end of the video implicitly denies the reality of super-pigeon shoe shipping:
The remarks made in this video do not reflect the reality of pigeon fancying. No birds have been maltreated during the shooting of this film.
None of this should distract from the JoJo Project‘s goal of providing clean water and reforestation efforts, though, it’s too bad, really. I almost bought a pair of men’s shoes.
Polkadot via This is Colossal via FlavorWire
PS from Miss C: This marks published post #35,000 at Neatorama! That’s quite an archive. I would throw some confetti at Adrienne if I knew where she lived.
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If you ever wanted to fool animal trackers that you are actually a cat, dog, monkey, even a gecko, then you’d better strap on some of these bizarre new sandals from Japan that make your footprints look like the animal of your choice. Of course, they’re only really useful in mud or sand, so plan accordingly.
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These intricately-designed high heels might not be the most functional shoes in the world, but they are certainly eye-catching and fun. Would any of you fashion-forward neatonaut ladies wear these or do they look too hard to walk around in?
Oddee has a variety of other items inspired by Alice in Wonderland at the link.
These are just what you need for ducking down pipes, jumping on Goombas and saving pixelated Princesses. Converse has announced that their series of Super Mario shoes will be available to gamers and non-gamers alike this summer. A basic design featuring a repeating pattern of little Marios on a white or black background will be rolled out in July. The two designs set for an August release depict entire scenes of the game – the first level and the last level (shown).
Link via [Geeks Are Sexy]
What do you do when your pet goose gets sore feet after walking around the city streets all day? Buy him some protective shoes of course! See more of the adorable pictures on Cute Overload.
Artist Phil Noto made this shoe for a custom sneaker art show at the Bold Hype Gallery in New York City. I’d hazard a guess that the number 27 refers to a specific vessel, but it’s hard to know precisely which one.
Link via Everyday, No Days Off | Artist’s Website | Photo by the artist
If you want to say ‘I’m a practical person’ while still wearing high heeled shoes, these stilettos by Christian Louboutin should do the trick. It’s just a pity that they’re only in metric.
Link via Craft | Photo: Christian Loutoubin
Billed as “the ultimate stiletto,” this pair of shoes is made of gold or platinum (your choice) and encrusted with 2,200 handset diamonds, over 30 karats total. It also features “the exquisite Stamen Fluted Heal” (sic). It also comes with extra soles, so it will never wear out. The price? £100,000. That’s $163,500 US. Got that in a size 6E? Link -via J-Walk Blog
Oh, nothing special, just a duck walking through Beijing showing off its shoes. Link -via Buzzfeed
(Image credit: China Foto Press/Barcroft Media)
This whimsical design by footwear designer Kobi Levi is a "shoe-in" for fun! Check out his blog for many more wonderfully unusual shoe designs: Link (my favorite is the Olive Oyl) – via Book of Joe
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If you need just the right item to complete your “What were you thinking?” outfit, I suggest these hoof shoes, available in ankle and knee lengths. These £1,300 ($2802) shoes feature synthetic hooves, but are made from 5,000 horse hairs each:
The knee-length and ankle-length shoes were commissioned to celebrate 100 years of the famous National Hunt festival, which begins on Tuesday.
Three pairs will be sold with proceeds going to the Prostate Cancer Charity.
Link via Born Rich | Photo: BBC
Lauren Milroy, a mechanical engineer with a background in the aerospace industry, recently completed a master’s program in design. She made these shoes out of colored pencils.
Link via Dude Craft | Artist’s Website
The Wicked Witch of the East Door Stop - $27.95
Do you know someone who is hard to shop for? The Wicked Witch of the East Door Stop from the NeatoShop, because even a real witch can appreciate a great pair of shoes.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more Wizard of the Oz fun.
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Therese of Earth and Living figured out how to construct shoes like those worn by Medieval Scandinavians. It’s not as simple as you might think, but it’s a quite feasible craft project for the non-professional leatherworker. She provides step-by-step instructions with pictures from start to finish. Once you’re done, grab a sword and go raiding!
Link via The Presurfer
