Over the last two decades, running footwear has consistently evolved thanks
to a rigorous focus on innovation. The sleek design of the 2004 Nike Sock Dart
was unlike anything before it, born from the innovative thinking of those
imagining what was next for Nike. During an inspirational trip to Japan, a Nike
employee came across a pair of kids' socks. Not just any pair of socks, the pair
had fully-formed mouse ears with not a single stitch in sight. The discovery of
the seemingly simple kids' socks led the Nike team to what they called the
"X Machine", a circular knit machine made by an Italian company.
"The machine was originally made to produce argyle socks. But what we also
found out was that you could program it to make shapes. And not only that,
on the fly, you could make openings. It could make holes, or it could make a
hole within a layer to basically form a pocket", explained Tobie, who was at
the head of the project he called the "Dimensional Support System", or "DSS".
A new way to use the machine was discovered, and the journey towards
creating a circular knit upper began through a partnership with a sock
manufacturer in Iowa.
"They happened to have a programmer who knew how to program the X Machine,
even though they didn't have one themselves. So we got a machine, sent it to
Iowa and started to work with that programmer."
In order to create what the team was looking for, the programmer needed
specifics, like where to add stretch, where to create static and in what
directions the stretch should go. This led him to doing a bit of his own legwork.
"He started making strips of material to show us the stretch he could do with
certain materials. He basically made a map for us to choose from. It pretty
much became us saying, 'Okay, we'll take that for here, and this for there'",
said Hatfield.
Once a foot map for the Nike Sock Dart was nailed down and produced, the
team needed to create a structure within the sock. Filling the pockets in the
collar created by the machine, a 3D collar foam was developed to maintain form
in the upper.
"I came up with the idea of creating a 3D mould for the collar foam where the
top radius and bottom radius were perfect, the top-line was shaped and it
actually grabbed underneath your ankle and supported your ankle", says
developer John Hurd.
The pocket was filled with foam thanks to a tool specifically developed by the
innovation team and inserted via an opening in the back of the pattern, which
was then covered by the signature heel piece of the Nike Sock Dart.
With this structure in place, the Dimensional Support System quickly came to
life. A unique midfoot strap was then added, making the shoe far more runnable
thanks to additional midfoot support.
"I had worked a lot with different polymers, so we actually picked a TPU that had
a lot of stretch so it would be a dynamic midfoot. Then, I came up with the idea
of the mushroom heads, so you just pull the strap over and snap it",
Hurd explained.
Once a complete design was in place, it was time to refine the details.
Enter designer Mark Smith, who was called upon to ensure the Nike Sock Dart
stayed minimal and worked as a complete, holistic design.
"It was just an exercise in refinement. I kept saying the closer we can get to
this very simple, clean shape, the better", Smith revealed. Smith's eye for
detail helped finalise the construction of the heel, which features a heavily
sculpted finish that acts as a launch lever for the foot when striking the ground.
Down below, Smith's graphic design roots helped etch in HTM's subtle influence.
"As far as the outsole is concerned, I created the HTM logo as one whole logo
and then we decided to pull it apart. So, some of them will have H, some of
them will have T and others will have M. We thought that would be a fun way
to uniquely change out some of the details here and there", Smith explained as
he reminisced on the outsole.
When it came to colourways, the Nike Sock Dart took inspiration from the
tree dart frog for its beneficial colour palette.
"We were looking at the bold colour of the tree dart frog and it was a lot
about being dangerous, but also being in nature. The idea was to use colour
as a weapon. It also became part of why we ended up calling it the Nike
Sock Dart", according to Smith.
In the end, the Nike Sock Dart as a whole was just the tip of the iceberg when
it came to knit footwear. What started as an idea based on a simple kids' sock
led to a whole new world of Nike Flyknit footwear for generations of athletes
to come.
Via Nike
to a rigorous focus on innovation. The sleek design of the 2004 Nike Sock Dart
was unlike anything before it, born from the innovative thinking of those
imagining what was next for Nike. During an inspirational trip to Japan, a Nike
employee came across a pair of kids' socks. Not just any pair of socks, the pair
had fully-formed mouse ears with not a single stitch in sight. The discovery of
the seemingly simple kids' socks led the Nike team to what they called the
"X Machine", a circular knit machine made by an Italian company.
"The machine was originally made to produce argyle socks. But what we also
found out was that you could program it to make shapes. And not only that,
on the fly, you could make openings. It could make holes, or it could make a
hole within a layer to basically form a pocket", explained Tobie, who was at
the head of the project he called the "Dimensional Support System", or "DSS".
A new way to use the machine was discovered, and the journey towards
creating a circular knit upper began through a partnership with a sock
manufacturer in Iowa.
"They happened to have a programmer who knew how to program the X Machine,
even though they didn't have one themselves. So we got a machine, sent it to
Iowa and started to work with that programmer."
In order to create what the team was looking for, the programmer needed
specifics, like where to add stretch, where to create static and in what
directions the stretch should go. This led him to doing a bit of his own legwork.
"He started making strips of material to show us the stretch he could do with
certain materials. He basically made a map for us to choose from. It pretty
much became us saying, 'Okay, we'll take that for here, and this for there'",
said Hatfield.
Once a foot map for the Nike Sock Dart was nailed down and produced, the
team needed to create a structure within the sock. Filling the pockets in the
collar created by the machine, a 3D collar foam was developed to maintain form
in the upper.
"I came up with the idea of creating a 3D mould for the collar foam where the
top radius and bottom radius were perfect, the top-line was shaped and it
actually grabbed underneath your ankle and supported your ankle", says
developer John Hurd.
The pocket was filled with foam thanks to a tool specifically developed by the
innovation team and inserted via an opening in the back of the pattern, which
was then covered by the signature heel piece of the Nike Sock Dart.
With this structure in place, the Dimensional Support System quickly came to
life. A unique midfoot strap was then added, making the shoe far more runnable
thanks to additional midfoot support.
"I had worked a lot with different polymers, so we actually picked a TPU that had
a lot of stretch so it would be a dynamic midfoot. Then, I came up with the idea
of the mushroom heads, so you just pull the strap over and snap it",
Hurd explained.
Once a complete design was in place, it was time to refine the details.
Enter designer Mark Smith, who was called upon to ensure the Nike Sock Dart
stayed minimal and worked as a complete, holistic design.
"It was just an exercise in refinement. I kept saying the closer we can get to
this very simple, clean shape, the better", Smith revealed. Smith's eye for
detail helped finalise the construction of the heel, which features a heavily
sculpted finish that acts as a launch lever for the foot when striking the ground.
Down below, Smith's graphic design roots helped etch in HTM's subtle influence.
"As far as the outsole is concerned, I created the HTM logo as one whole logo
and then we decided to pull it apart. So, some of them will have H, some of
them will have T and others will have M. We thought that would be a fun way
to uniquely change out some of the details here and there", Smith explained as
he reminisced on the outsole.
When it came to colourways, the Nike Sock Dart took inspiration from the
tree dart frog for its beneficial colour palette.
"We were looking at the bold colour of the tree dart frog and it was a lot
about being dangerous, but also being in nature. The idea was to use colour
as a weapon. It also became part of why we ended up calling it the Nike
Sock Dart", according to Smith.
In the end, the Nike Sock Dart as a whole was just the tip of the iceberg when
it came to knit footwear. What started as an idea based on a simple kids' sock
led to a whole new world of Nike Flyknit footwear for generations of athletes
to come.
Via Nike
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