VAPORMAX: Catering to the
Sneakerhead
The task: Creating a print for the SU19 season, celebrating the story of Air. Specifically with the initiated consumer in mind. Redefining and refreshing the look of ombrae and fade. Special project as part of exclusive, limited edition, capsule collection.
The response: Knowing the consumer was a sneaker obsessed female I drew on the insight that they are knowledgable on their shoes and favor trend right expressions. My idea was to create something that at first glance would look like an abstract geometric pattern with the look of a heat map gradient, but that to a knowledgable consumer would reveal to be the iconic cushioning shapes of the consumers favorite shoe. It was a natural continuation of the shoes that had successfully featured gradients in the past, and a culmination of the Air journey for footwear. I was able to use my knowledge of After Effects in combination with Photoshop to create this pattern.
See review from Sneakernews below.
THERE’S NOTHING IN THE WORLD of footwear that’s quite like a Nike Vapormax unit, and the Swoosh Brand is now taking the podular full-foot cushioning system’s style and applying it to the upper in bold fashion on this new women’s-only Vapormax 2019. The shoe’s semi-translucent TPE top half features pink and orange patterns accented by cool mint green detailing on the upper/rear. Although they may appear abstract at first, closer inspection reveals that the aforementioned patterns are in fact inspired by a Vapormax sole, parts of which are scattered across the majority of the shoe in an intentionally haphazard fashion that’s also slightly reminiscent of a foot heat map. In an amusing twist, the cushioning unit itself is the most straightforward part of the shoe, offering a simple-yet effective clear design accented by orange rubber for extra durability in high-wear areas. This unique new style debuted at Japanese retailers like Atmos on May 23rd, and retails for $190 USD. Get a look here, and stay tuned to our sneaker release dates page for more info on other summertime Air Max styles.
