Air Max Moire: Lighter Than Ever.
Building upon the iconic silhouette of the Air Max 90, Nike launches the Air Max Moire. “The Icon Design team is always looking to innovations created by our Sport Performance teams to give our icons a new and unique identity rooted in innovation first and foremost.” – Global Design Director Jessed Leyva.  In the name of innovation, this season’s Air Max 90 was remixed with technology born from the Air Zoom Moire, Nike’s first Nike+ enabled shoe. Developed by Mark Smith, the Moire’s laser cut ventilation system places perforated holes throughout the one piece no-sew upper to give strategically placed relief to hot spots around the foot while simultaneously drastically reducing overall weight.

Adopting the Moire’s innovations to the Air Max Current represents what Nike Sportswear is all about. The notion of Elastic Design, using iconic elements of the classic while pushing innovation and form through the use of technologies that simply did not exist when the original icon was first introduced. Through the fusing of Air Max Current’s platform, which utilizes natural motion, with an embroidered and laser-cut Zoom Moire upper yielded an entirely unique yet identifiably iconic continuation in the Air Max 90 lineage. Through the use of a one layer no-sew upper, the Sportswear design team was able to embroider all the traditional lines of the iconic Air Max 90 in stitched perfection. Released in subtle tonal hues the Air Max Moire is set to keep things cool and comfortable for Spring and Summer.

M/W Gradient Grid Firefly Jacket Using a mere 32 grams of water repellant micro-ripstop material, the Gradient Grid Firefly Jacket fuses the ACG ethos of lightweight protection with Nike’s most innovative performance materials. Borrowing from the best of outdoor apparel, the Firefly features laser cut breathability at the neck, hood peak with internal drawcord channel, a fully adjustable bottom hem and storm flap to keep the wearer warm and the weather out. Each Firefly honors ACG’s mountain heritage coming correct with an anodized carabiner. Creating a unique graphics story, the NSW design team expanded on the Aquatic theme of ACG, drawing inspiration from the way fish scales reflect light and movement allowing the fish to camouflage itself against predators. The Gradient Grid was developed as NSW’s unique interpretation of this evolutionary trait. Using a sublimation printing process that equips each Firefly with its own uniquely gridded pattern of intersecting lines – no two Fireflys are alike. As a final testament to the NSW design principle of form following function, this lightweight jacket collapses on command into the packable chest pocket.

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Spring 09 Nike Sportswear footwear and apparel is currently available at Nike Sportswear at the Montalban in Los Angeles and 21 Mercer in New York

Source: nikesportswear.com

via EM Staff, 29 January 2009 10:59am | 2 |