Flywire is a revolutionary upper technology developed by NIKE in 2008. The upper is less than 1 mm thick and only relies on thin wires for support. This is NIKE Flywire technology, a shoe upper support technology that pursues ultra-lightweight and strong durability. Imagine a pair of paper-thin sneakers, with an upper less than 2 millimeters thick and supported only by thin threads. This is Flywire, a revolutionary technology. High-strength thin wires are like the steel cables of a suspension bridge. The position of the thin wires is precisely designed at the parts of the foot that need support. Relying on Flywire technology, Nike can design the lightest and strongest sneakers ever, changing the way shoes are made by reducing the material required for the upper to the level of a barefoot. Thanks to this innovative technology, track running spikes with Flywire technology can now weigh less than 100 grams, an unprecedented level of weight, without losing the durability, integrity and support of a running shoe.

NIKE Flywire

Six and a half years ago, Jay Meschter, the founder of Flywire shoes and innovation director of Nike Innovation Kitchen, only had one shoe on his hands. Last, this shoe last used as a shoe mold is covered with pins and thin wires. The location of the pins and thin wires is the key point where the foot needs support. The model looks like string art from the 1970s, but it harbors unknown possibilities. It is this simple product concept that holds the potential to revolutionize the way shoes are made. Engineered fibers are arranged in specific parts to form the skeleton or support bracket of sports shoes to keep the foot stable in place. This approach overturns the assumptions behind making sneakers: add more elements inside a sneaker for more support. Innovation Kitchen fully understood the development potential of new products, but lacked an easy or cost-effective way to turn innovative ideas into actual products. The project was shelved until Jay and his design team finally discovered the machines and processes that could make this technology a reality.

A few years later, Jay found the answer on an ordinary sewing machine in the Nike sample room: Flywire could be made by embroidery. In theory, the sewing machine's needle can move and lift in all directions, creating the long stitches required by the new technology. Of course, it's not that simple. The embroidery machine had to be taken apart and reprogrammed to achieve the design Jay wanted.

Using the method of sewing directly through the upper (rather than using large jump stitches), the side decoration of the shoe is no longer effective. Long seams mean the upper structure is made entirely of fine threads. Flywire significantly reduces the weight of sports shoes, announcing the end of the era of using multiple layers of fabric to provide support, because the latter would only increase the weight of the shoe and reduce elasticity.

Early in the process, the design team began working with biomechanics experts at the Nike Sports Research Laboratory (NSRL). They taped the duct tape in their hands to the designer's feet. Jeff Pisciotta, a researcher at Nike's Sports Research Lab, was fascinated by the idea of ??creating additional ligaments to facilitate foot movement. Ligaments guide joints in the correct direction. He explains, "We tape the foot from the bottom to the heel to provide stability on the side of the foot. Using this method and some anatomical principles, we can design the Flywire fibers in the right places."

The precise distribution of Flywire ligaments means the upper acts like a second skin. The function of the fabric is only to prevent stones and soil from entering, and all support is provided by thin wires. A new kind of sneaker could solve a long-standing problem: foot slippage.

When people walk or run in shoes, their feet will slip with every step. Although it is only 1 millimeter of slippage, it will add up to a lot during the entire competition. Calculated based on the stride length of 1 meter, after 1000 meters, it is equivalent to a loss of 1 meter – and the gap between first and third place is often less than 1 meter, so this number should not be underestimated.

Merchant pointed out, "Flywire fills in the neglected part of the support plate that contacts the sole of the foot, making people forget the existence of the shoe." Nike is also moving towards Bill Bowman's The target takes a step closer. Bowman once said when he was a coach that ideal track spikes should be like nails that go through the foot. Although today's Flywire is not as extreme as a nail, it does make the shoe support plate as close to the foot as possible.

This technology will first be used in some sports shoes, such as track and field running shoes Nike Zoom Victory Spike, Nike Zoom Victory +, and Nike Hyperdunk basketball shoes