THE FOOTSCAPE

Side-lacing now seems to have become de rigeur for football boots. As a designer, do you get a sense of satisfaction from seeing something you pioneered on people’s feet every day?
Yeah, it’s funny because the Footscape was almost killed as being too risky but a few of us rallied to show how acceptable it could be.

The sales samples and all the press featured the first colour of the Footscape with a smooth black sock liner whilst the final release version had that replaced with white waffle mesh. What causes something like that to change so late in a shoe’s production?
Magazines have a 3 month lead time so the first photographic samples were early versions. Functionally, the lighter colours reflect more heat. When samples are being made, many more colourways are tried than are approved for sale. I have seen disgusting brown leather versions of Air Huaraches at a factory but I have never seen them for sale. I know, you are going to tell me you have them and love them!

Nah, I passed on them! There have been pictures of an all-white Footscape floating round the web for about 8 years. Were they a rejected sample, a wear test or just a fake? Any clues?
Again, probably a sample that got snuck out of Nike or the factory. Is it good? Would people buy it (this is for Nike’s benefit)?