Material Matters: Sneaker Innovation and Tech that Rocked 2024
The sneaker world would be far less interesting without brands constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for the things we lace up, strap and slip on to our feet. Luckily, 2024 was another year of new innovations and exciting material stories in the sneakersphere, from hot developments in 3D-printed designs to unexpected colabs on performance models to spray on running shoes, yes indeed, it was another exciting 12 months for anybody obsessed with sneakers. Let’s take a look at what techy trends shook up the industry the most in 2024.
3D-Printed Sneakers on the Rise
3D-printed sneakers aren’t new in 2024, but this year they were more prevalent than ever with a number of brands introducing exciting advancements in the technology. Nike debuted the Air Max 1000 in partnership with Zellerfeld, who are an industry leader in 3D printing. The Air Max 1 goes straight into the future with the Air Max 1000, which reimagines the venerable 1987 running shoe as a one piece slip-on constructed in soft foam with an Air Max unit in the heel. ‘3D printing is an additive manufacturing process that creates a physical object from a digital design,’ said Jake Scannapieco, lead 3D designer for the AM1000. ‘The process works by layering a raw material and fusing it together to create an object. This process enabled us to think of the AM1000 as a wearable sculpture.’ Indeed, it does look like a work of sneaker art. Elsewhere, adidas launched the equally impressive Climacool24. Praised by the Three Stripes as ‘a shoe that pushes the boundaries of design innovation’, the Climacool24 brings the brand’s 3D-printed Futurecraft technology characterised by intricate lattice shapes from just the sole, like the Futurecraft 4D, to the entire shoe itself. The boldest 3D-printed sneaker of the year is no doubt the A$AP Rocky x PUMA Mostro 3D, which looks like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Its unique spiky surface and geometric shapes make it look like some sort of alien on the verge of morphing into something even scarier.
The future is definitely bright for 3D-printed footwear, as we’re just seeing the beginning of what will become a major part of the sneaker industry as the technology progresses further. In fact, the next evolution of 3D-printed footwear is already here…
On LightSpray
On are shaking up the running shoe industry in more ways than just chipping away at Nike’s market share. Just ahead of the Olympics this summer, the surging Swiss athletic shoe brand unveiled what should go down as the biggest technological innovation in footwear of 2024: spray-on uppers. Dubbed LightSpray, the impressive manufacturing process is a new way of creating an upper for performance footwear. It’s super high tech, but basically how it works is an automated robotic arm sprays recycled thermoplastic material into a lightweight and aerodynamic one-piece upper that is then bonded onto the foam sole of the shoe without using any glue. The process greatly reduces materials needed, so it’s not only more environmentally friendly but much lighter than a traditionally constructed shoe. And the first model to feature a LightSpray construction, the Cloudboom Strike LS, isn’t just a concept shoe but one that’s already getting serious results. On-sponsored elite runner Hellen Obiri wore it for her first place finish at this year’s Boston Marathon, bronze medal finish at the 2024 Olympics, and second place finish at the 2024 New York City Marathon. Look for On’s LightSpray tech to hit more high-performance running shoes in 2025.
Performance Collaborations
Traditionally, sneaker collaborations between footwear brands and creatives have focused on retro and lifestyle sneakers. But in 2024, there’s been an uptick in collaborators working with brands to create energy around their latest performance offerings. New Balance are leading the charge, as they dropped a number of brand new performance models in collaborative form in 2024, like the Paperboy x FuelCell SuperComp Elite v4, the Action Bronson x FuelCell Rebel v4 and Minimus Trail, and the GANNI x Fresh Foam Trainer. Perhaps the biggest move of this burgeoning trend will be Salehe Bembury’s new partnership with PUMA Hoops, where he’ll be designing basketball footwear as well as recruiting athletes for the brand. Bembury has a degree in industrial design and has created footwear for major names like Versace, Yeezy, and most recently Crocs, where he designed the clog-happy brand’s first formidable outdoors sneaker, the Juniper. Clearly, footwear design is Bembury’s forte, but joining with PUMA to lead their basketball line is still going to be a new, high-pressure test of his talent – not to mention an early litmus test of a brand handing over the reins of a performance line to a buzzy name outside of their traditional corporate structure.
Nike Joins the Cypher
In the 1980s, Vans had the Breakers line of footwear for break dancing, but there had been no other major footwear brand design a shoe specifically for the sport until 2024 when Nike presented the Jam for the Summer Olympics. In retrospect, the Jam is one of the most memorable sneaker storylines from this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, and they weren’t even worn by Raygun. The product took ‘six years of Nike innovation’ according to the brand, as the Jam was painstakingly designed with input from breakers to offer the perfect shoe for their many movements. The unique design of the Jam maximises a dancer’s ability to slide across a variety of surfaces from smooth to rough with strategic traction and rounded edges on the thin rubber cupsole that offers a low-to-the-ground feel, while a drop-in foam insole provides ample cushioning. The design is complete with an upside down Swoosh on the midsole as a fun way to make sure at least one branding hit on the sneaker remains right side up even when the breaker isn’t.
Breaking unfortunately isn’t coming back for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, but we hope to see more releases of the Jam and other breaking-specific footwear popping and locking in the near future.
Super Trainers Get More Super – and Even Taller!
In September, we took an in-depth look at the ‘super’ running shoe phenomenon – the trend of running shoes designed with thick, high-tech foam soles and carbon fibre plates that cushion and propel every step like never before. The movement has gained even more steam in the months since, with new stacked-up sneakers hitting the market left and right. Super shoes were initially only for race day footwear, but controversy prompted World Athletics to set up new rules for what can and can’t be worn by professional athletes in competition in 2019. Over time, the controversy has died down significantly, and running brands have expanded their super shoe offerings beyond racing footwear into everyday trainers. What was once thought to be a fad that unfairly gave runners a leg up has now become a generally accepted genre of running shoes for racing and training alike.
Brands were happy to oblige by endlessly innovating and supplying the market with plenty of thick, pillowy super trainers. The most shocking super trainer to arrive has been the PUMA Fast RB NITRO Elite, which features a 58mm stack in the heel and three carbon fibre plates. To put this wild runner in context, a maximum 40mm sole height and one carbon fibre plate is what World Athletics allows for competition. Hailed by PUMA as ‘the world’s most illegal running shoe’, the Fast RB NITRO Elite may be the most extreme, headline-generating example of a super running shoe, but other sneakers aren’t too far behind. In 2024, we’ve seen super trainers go higher than ever from the ‘legal’ 40mm limit. Even one of Nike’s longtime franchises has given into the thick sole temptation, as the new Vomero 18 features a 46mm stack of ZoomX and ReactX foam. Elsewhere, Brooks got on board with the Glycerin Max featuring a heel stack of 45mm, PUMA also has the MagMax Nitro at 47mm, and the aptly named Hoka Skyward X measures up at 48mm. Super trainers are definitely here to stay, and the only question is how much taller they’ll go.