The Foamposite Fable

The Foampostite is arguably the most marmite shoe that Nike have ever produced, I am on the side of the lovers. As far as I am concerned, what’s not to love!

During the early days of my obsession over footwear, mainly focusing my attention on higher end kicks, I was unaware of the perfect blank canvas the Foamposite created for design. Back in 2015, I was fortunate enough to go New York with my mum for the first time. This trip fully exposed me to the complexity in design and vast colourways that have been brought to the market in this model alone. There are 3 occasions on that 1 trip that help encapsulate that and show me the dark side of the moon. Imagery Via Complex

Exposure Pt.1 – Stood outside the Supreme Store on Lafayette Street. A gent was dress in a plain white oversized tee, wide as hell basketball shorts, long white Nike socks and the Nike Foamposite One ‘Snow Camo’.

Exposure Pt.2 – First ever visit to Flight Club. Looking through the high heat cabinet being able to see both Galaxy Foams and Tianjin Foams for the first-time (2 of my favourite pairs of shoes ever to release). {A later trip to Crepe City upon my return home, seeing the Galaxy Foam on foot, helped solidify my enthusiasm towards the shoe even more}

Exposure Pt.3 – The release of the Nike Foamposite Pro ‘Gucci’. During what felt like the longest walk of my life, I stumbled across a tiny independent sneaker store near Madison Square Gardens, I believe called Freds. Saw them in the window and following on from my recent in-hand exposure to the model, bought them in a flash!

Since then, I have only built an arsenal of 3 pairs. Which for one of my favourite shoes isn’t that many in the grand scheme of things. Some would say, how can that be one of your favourite shoes if you only own 3 pairs. My rational is that the retail for this shoe is insane, I am not made of money. On top of that, the resell on some is even worse! Though I would pay obscene amounts if I could. Imagery Via Stock X

HISTORY

Initially released in 1997, the Nike Foampostite One was envisioned through the eyes of Eric Avar, assisted by Toren Orzeck (designer of the Footscape) and John Tawney. Like an old wife’s tail, there are hard facts to the story but also some unknown truths to the development of this product. Commonly known as the Penny Hardaway shoe, the Foampostite One was rumoured to have been made for Scotty Pippen but was shown to Penny during a meeting for his own pro model. After seeing it, it didn’t take him long to soon claim it as his own.

The shoes design was initially based of the iridescent hard shells of insects, more specifically beetles. Foamposites did more than produce outlandish colourways, this infamous villain of the footwear world tested the boundaries of design during the time. Shoes then wear mainly made from leather, suedes or mesh for durability and flexibility, as clearly seen on the Foamposite though, this was not the case. This development help encourage thought provoking concepts that have shifted footwear design across the industry. To create this technology at the time was like trying to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow – you know where to go, but no idea how to get there.

Following on from a lot of back and forth between manufactures, it wasn’t until Korean car brand Daewoo, came to Nike with the formula create their very own Frankenstein. To produce such a thick upper, they had to create what was essentially a pourable liquid foam which they could solidify and mould into this shell.

Once they figured out how to make liquid material the next step was to produce a mould that would create the exoskeletal look. To give a bit of insight, the mould alone cost $750,000 to make. Ergo the rationale behind the expensive price tag for a Foamposite.

Once the liquid foam is poured into the mould, it is then heated between 130 -175 degrees Fahrenheit solidifying the shape. With the uppers being so hard and durable this also meant the midsoles had to be 5x stronger than usual to help maintain the structural integrity of the shoe.

Imagery Via Nike US Official Pantent

With all these developments and breakthroughs made by Nike and the design team working on this project. You would think that Nike would have looked after all the archival areas of this project, it has helped guide and produce some of the most widely used technologies to date and bent the rules into what is possible with design. Naturally, as is the same with any new technology to grace the market. During its release, the Foamposite did not take off as well as they hoped, this was mainly brought down to the initial $180 price tag. Off the back of its lack of success, Nike destroyed the moulds for the shoe…… Only to retro the shoe once again! This could arguably be seen as not only the most marmite shoe ever to release but also the most expensive retro to have been manufactured!

If you have made it this far down this post congrats, it’s a long one and hopefully gained a new appreciation for the Foampostite.

To bring this all off to a close I want to look a little closer at the recently released CDG rendition. THE UPPER! The first time ever Nike have changed the mould, moving from the waved motif to a Zen Garden inspired piece of art that has an incredibly satisfying aesthetic. Having now read about the manufacturing process you can further understand why the retail price on these was so ghastly at £385. I don’t see this happening again so if you love Foams, you have the spare pocket money and want to look like a certified don. Then get the damn things!

Imagery Via Highsnobiety