A project described as “the future of smart-tech materials” could be a sneakerhead’s biggest dream or worst nightmare, depending on how you see things. On one hand, you could whittle a room full of shoes down to three or four. On the other, that super rare Air Jordan colourway that’s the centrepiece of your collection just got its value severely undercut.
“The Shift Sneaker is the sneaker you buy once, but that acts like a million different pairs” proclaims the +rehabstudio site and based on their description for the tech-heavy footwear, they may be right. The shoe concept uses threaded micro LED displays, conductive woven threads, and meta materials (we presume that means magic) to actively adapt and shift its own colourway.
The pitch couples the tech with a phone app in which you could potentially buy “packs” based on your footwear preferences. Want to flex while colour matching your shoes with every conceivable outfit? You’ll need the selfie pack. Are you in a corny relationship where you always match fits with your partner? Grab the connection pack. Do you ride a bike and want to shift between high vis footwear and casual kicks without having to carry a second pair? The cycling pack has you, bruhbruh. The idea is super exciting but to the point where there’s that little voice in my head being like “nah mate, not in this lifetime”.
The Shoreditch creative tech agency admit that such a concept probably isn’t viable in the near future, but the collective’s obsession with time, evolving tech, and interconnectivity gives us hope that they could push this idea further. Besides that, we’re already getting clothing and shoes that are able to interact with smartphones so the idea isn’t entirely impossible. Please sneaker companies, all I want is a pair of shoes that I can completely change on a whim using my phone. Why is that too much to ask?
[Via.]
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