Job’s Not Finished → Detail: @jeffstaple
Jeff Staple, founder of STAPLE and a defining figure within sneaker culture, joins us for a conversation tracing the origins of Nike Considered and his involvement in shaping some of the project’s foundational language. From naming the initiative through to the project eventually making its way into Jordan Brand, the discussion opens up a lesser-heard perspective on Nike’s early sustainability efforts.
The conversation also moves through the shift in how products are now experienced. Where objects once lived primarily in physical space, they are now first encountered through screens, fragments, and circulation. A change that reshapes not only how products are consumed, but how they are designed in the first place.
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An ongoing initiative from CONCEPT(K) powered by @rendertoken
(E)xperiment → HELIOT EMIL
What happens when product language becomes audio?
Using the shape, structure, and surrounding visual language of its Hiking Boot silhouette as source material, HELIOT EMIL reinterprets the project through sound, translating mechanical details, tension systems, surface textures, and campaign references into an audio landscape shaped by rhythm, tone, and atmosphere.
The result moves beyond product documentation, treating the silhouette as a framework for spatial and sensory experimentation.
Creative Direction: @juliusjuul
Artworks: @ilpleut.studio
Visuals: @lolalevient
Sound: @airmowmusic
(E)xperiment→ Javier Guijarro & Converse
Spanish designer Javier Guijarro previews his FW26 footwear project with Converse.
The collection reworks Converse’s familiar silhouette through Guijarro’s own lens, merging the Chuck Taylor with deconstructed footwear forms informed by traditional leather shoes, sleek dress silhouettes, and heeled constructions.
Presented in Paris this past March, the project shifts Converse’s iconography into a more sculptural and dress-oriented space.
Development → adidas Y-3 Megaball
Built from the adidas EQT Top Ten, the silhouette is reworked through scale, material, and surface. The lateral side is stripped back and softened, while the medial retains the original linework, holding the structure in place.
A full leather upper carries an oversized Y-3 mark, pressed into the surface rather than applied. Soft-touch construction shapes the feel underhand, keeping the form controlled.
A study in tension between volume, restraint, and identity.
Design : @aurelienlongo_perso
Development : @francescacristinab
Marketing : @lukas_ruprecht@adidasy3 and @yohjiyamamotoofficial teams
Article Preview → Surface Tension : Part 03
Parts 00 through 02 of our Surface Tension series traced rubber from early protective footwear through the emergence of modern sticky rubber. They followed the path from Vibram’s original sole design to the first modern climbing shoes that changed what was possible on rock. Part 03 moves forward into the present, looking at what happened when that same footwear design crossed into fashion and became a broader conversation around technical gear.
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🧗🏻♂️
Written by @leahmaya
(D)evelopment→ PUBLIC SCHOOL x Timberland Met Gala Boot.
Engineered and handmade inside Timberland’s bespoke workshop “The Shed” in New Hampshire, only two pairs of these boots were created for Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow at the 2026 Met Gala.
Built from Wickett & Craig vegetable-tanned leather, the silhouette reworks Timberland’s iconic 6-Inch Boot through enlarged proportions, stacked leather midsoles, a custom nickel-plated copper toe guard, and hand-finished detailing throughout.
Industrial workwear reconstructed through couture-level craft.
(S)tudio → Nike x Zellerfeld AIRMAX 1000.2
Released in close succession, the shift is visible - iterations happening in real time. Subtle adjustments point toward a system being optimised live: faster, cleaner, more resolved. A rare moment where the pace of 3D printing evolution isn’t abstract, but directly observable in product. With the pair set to release in two days, that progression moves almost as fast as the technology itself.
An evolution of the original 3D-printed Air Max 1000, with updates to outsole shape and lug design refining geometry and print efficiency. The system is adjusted for faster production while maintaining its intended performance.
Single-material construction remains, with the Max Air unit integrated directly into the structure. Surface patterning carries references to the original Air Max 1 mudguard, translated into a fully printed form.
(D)evelopment → Dior Squash
A construction-led approach defines the Dior Squash, using stitchdown to externalise how the upper is secured-turning a typically hidden connection into a visible perimeter detail.
The upper combines suede calfskin with technical fabric, supported by a lambskin lining.
A lightweight PU midsole sits beneath, paired with a sculpted TPU outsole carrying engraved CD signatures.
Made in Italy.
Via @nouarre
(D)evelopment → adidas VIRGINIA Vario FLAT EARTHER
The VIRGINIA Vario FLAT EARTHER reinterprets the 2004 adidas Yoga Vario through Pharrell Williams’ VIRGINIA framework.
A low-profile, foot-wrapping silhouette built around ground contact and natural motion. Full grain leather upper, direct-injected outsole, and EVA insole-minimal structure with controlled articulation.
Part of the ongoing VIRGINIA series, reworking archive through material and form.
Design Director: Kelsey F.
Lead design: Ginikanwa U.
Support design: Chandricka C., Elisa P.
Can: Josh S., Annette B.
Pm: Hanan O., Annie A., Alim M., Chris S., Curtains J.
Dev: Mark L., Ollie F., Victoria H.
Tech: Kate M., David K.
At the start of the year we visited friends of CONCEPT(K), @f_o_a_r_m_s - a global footwear design, research and development studio.
Operating between Paris and Taipei, the practice moves across sport, fashion, and lifestyle, with design, engineering, and production treated as a continuous system.
The same hands behind projects such as Satisfy’s TheROCKER, Moncler’s Trailgrip LP, and Arc’teryx’s Kragg, with a wider body of work extending across categories.
That range carries through in the outcome, with a level of execution shaped by years of applied work across different contexts.
(E)xperiment → Mycelium Boot
Presented at Milan Design Week 2026, the prototype is constructed entirely from pure mycelium. Created by @larrsdittrich of Vrije Universiteit Brussel and master shoemaker @madam.marie at La Monnaie / De Munt, the design uses fungal material as the structure itself.
Two strains define the system, one forming a rigid sole, the other a flexible upper. Layering remains visible, exposing how the shoe is grown and brought together. Craft and biotechnology move through the same process.
(F)unction → adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3
At the London Marathon over this past weekend, adidas secured a trio of podium finishes. Sabastian Sawe (1:59:30) and Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41) both moved under the two-hour mark, while Tigist Assefa set a new benchmark in the women’s race with 2:15:41.
All three competed in the newly introduced Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3 - a sub-100g race shoe averaging 97g. Developed over three years, the model is 30% lighter than its predecessor and is reported to deliver a 1.6% gain in running economy.
The platform centres on a revised foam–carbon interface, pairing next-generation Lightstrike Pro Evo with a carbon-fibre ENERGYRIM structure. The result is a reduced, highly efficient system engineered for propulsion with minimal material excess.
A clear recalibration of human potential at race pace.
