Adidas Reimagines How Running Shoes Are Made With Its Innovative Strung Technology
Adidas has introduced a technology that takes sneaker customization to a new playing field.
The Three Stripes‘ innovative Strung software transforms data and athlete input into a three-dimensionally designed running shoe formed to fit each foot’s exact needs. Coming from the brand’s Futurecraft innovations incubator, this textile technology implements data mapping and specialized thread layering to construct the shoes.
The first prototypes were formed around two Adidas runners who performed a series of tests and motion capture runs to develop their own pairs.
The uppers offer a lightweight yet locked-in feel to prevent heel slippage, countered by stiffer threads across the midfoot, toe box and heel for a sturdier skeletal support base. Suppler threads in the forefoot then allow for flexibility with each step, coming together for a precise fit with cushioning and support where each individual foot needs it most.
“Strung is not knitting and it’s not weaving: it hasn’t existed before,” explained the brand in a release. “The first-of-its-kind concept shoe was created to provide a new experience of short-distance training runs at 5m/s or faster.”
The finishing touch of the never-before-seen style comes with its midsole where the brand furthered its signature Adidas 4D lattice design into a more streamlined, stripped back shape for forefoot precision. With a lightened heel and an engineered rubber outsole, the style provides traction exactly where it is needed without any excess material or fluff.
“It’s actually changing the way we think of creating uppers. It’s not like an object or a specific material, it’s more like a set of interrelated systems that work together to try and do something,” explained the brand. “We’re building up a library of knowledge and it will get more interesting as we aggregate data of testing and from different athletes and sports. The more we understand about how data can become design code, the more we can take that and apply it to new Strung textiles. It’s a continuous evolution.”
The Strung technology is still in development but is expected to hit markets with its first shoe in 2021 into 2022.
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