The All-Time Greatest Anatomy-Inspired Sneakers
The relationship between sneakers and the body runs deep. Rooted in sport, many of our favourite silhouettes started out as an experiment in improving athletic performance. Over the years that’ve gone into footwear development, we’ve embraced new ways of creating sneakers: we’ve made things easy and breezy by adding holes in the toebox, run through a gargantuan number of foams, gels and air breakthroughs to make ourselves more comfortable, and grasped an essential understanding of the mechanics needed to push our bodies to the limits in the constant pursuit of sporting prowess. Each of these advancements has come from the thorough research that goes into understanding our anatomy.
In a way, the sneaker scene is indebted to sport science, but trust it to repay itself in plenty of cool and creative ways. Flipping the script, we’ve witnessed plenty of anatomy-inspired builds and colourways in our time, the body serving as a muse for more than just tech upgrades. Here, we’ve taken a look at some of the all-time greatest anatomy-inspired sneakers.
Alexander McQueen x PUMA Anatomical Vein
Fans of this London-born designer know that he could draw inspiration from just about anywhere – though sometimes to his detriment, as very little was off-limits to . Themes of nature, art and his Scottish roots often featured in his collections, but his partnership with saw McQueen explore the human body. The duo kicked off their collaborative era in 2005, which happened to be a particularly experimental time for the Big Cat, who were galloping through the turn of the millennium with a plethora of weird and wonderful silhouettes. Lee himself worked with PUMA on a number of experimental low-profile silhouettes, including the Anatomical Vein sneaker. At a time where barefoot running was all the rage, the pair featured an intricate woven detail up top, but the inspiration really came through underfoot as the outsoles took on a ligament-inspired design and also featured a toe print motif under the forefoot.
Salehe Bembury x Crocs Pollex Clog
Ex-Versace designer, and PUMA collaborator, and creative director of the line, has a signature motif – his fingerprint. Though he’s explored this by leaving details on his previous collaborations, he quite literally imprinted himself upon the Pollex Clog. The Clog is textured in all-over waves that represent the ridges on his fingerprint. On its initial release, the Pollex Clog became one of Crocs’ fastest sell-throughs ever, and Bembury has since applied the same finish to the Pollex Slide and the sole of his .
Bembury doesn’t speak much on the idea behind the fingerprint, simply describing it as his brand identity. Which makes sense, given that everyone’s prints are unique to themselves. He did tell the New York Times that the lines relate closely to woodgrain – a nod to another of Bembury’s well-documented inspirations: nature. It’s all connected, after all!
Air Max 95
The might just be the most famous example of an anatomy-inspired sneaker, as its connections to the human body are well-documented within sneaker lore. Conceived by , the chunky model remains a framework for designers and collaborators alike and features a lacing system and heel counter that are inspired by a human ribcage and spine.
In 2022, the Swoosh played on the silhouette’s theme with the release of the two-part ‘’ pack. The first pair came made up with a series of red, burgundy and pink tones, paying homage to the muscular and cardiovascular systems. The second pair arrived in a tonal mix of white and grey, highlighting the skeletal system. Both pairs featured cursive ‘Anatomy of Air’ embroidery on the underside of the tongue, as well as matching bone and ligament details on the outsole.
Salomon ACS Pro
You’d be forgiven for not knowing that the AM95 isn’t the only ribcage-inspired silhouette out there. The returned to the market in 2022, but its OG form first arrived in 2005 when it was released as the GCS. Originally designed by (who also designed the and the , to name a few) the GCS features a cage-style upper, crafted to look like ribs to reflect the meshy trail runner’s breathability. The feature carried through onto the ACS Pro, alongside the metal eyelets that had been inspired by Tresser’s time working at his family’s motorcycle shop. The main update on the ACS Pro is actually its namesake feature – the introduction of Salomon’s sturdy Agile Chassis System built on the existing Ground Control System, due to adidas’ sale of Salomon to Amer Sports. The GCS name was adidas-owned technology.
Air Force 1 ‘Skeleton’
A Halloween fave, anatomy inspired sneakers probably don’t come much more on the nose than the , which added a spooky spin to 1982 hooper. Having dropped in white, black, orange and purple colourways since the initial 2018 release, the ‘Skeleton’ Air Force 1 looks exactly as it sounds, boasting an x-ray-style skeletal foot detail on its lateral and medial sidewalls and an additional spooky-themed insole graphic. Hinging on the Halloween theme, the pairs also sported a glow-in-the-dark sole unit.
END x Saucony Azura 2000 ‘Brain’
One of the more creative interpretations of the anatomy theme, Saucony linked up with British retailer for a trippy take on the back in 2021. The resulting colab was modelled after the brain and featured a somewhat unsettling wavy look. It came decked out in tonal red, pink and grey suedes that represented brain matter, with panels cut in waves to mimic the ridges that work to increase the organ’s surface area. Similar to the ‘Skeleton’ Air Force 1s, pairs also featured glow-in-the-dark outsoles, but things didn’t stop there. END. got smart with the execution, delivering the pairs in a matching patterned shoe box and sending out each release with a concerning squishy, brain-inspired stress ball.
Todd Bratrud x Nike SB Dunk ‘Brain Wreck’
But way before END.’s Saucony colab came a brainwave. The was the brainchild (okay, we’ll stop now) of illustrator and artist Todd Bratrud. At first glance, the pair looked pretty subtle: it featured a grey suede upper, white accents and a pink outsole and tongue, with ‘Brain’ and ‘Wreck’ wordmarks hitting the left and right heels respectively. However, it was beneath the Dunk’s suede skin that the somewhat grisly theme really came to life. The inner ankle padding came stitched in padded waves, which no doubt wore down (or got wrecked) if you were thrashing your Dunks the way Nike and Bratrud intended. A 2010 release also saw some pairs drop in a bundle that included a somewhat questionable ‘Organ Donor’ themed cooler, as well as a matching skate deck. Money from those sales was also donated to the Keep A Breast Foundation, furthering the theme in support of medical research.
Joe Freshgoods x Don’t Be Mad x New Balance 992 ‘Anatomy of a Heart’
The x Don’t Be Mad x was a Valentine’s release that stole our hearts – the very organ it was designed after. Rich reds and pleasing pink tones got those pulses racing, and New Balance put the pair together with the skill of a Harley Street surgeon. The colab was actually Freshgoods’s first foray into footwear with NB, and to this day he’s been keeping the releases coming. The initial inspiration for the pair was Freshgoods’s motto of ‘No emotions are emotions’ and how that tied into the vessel of the heart, but Freshgoods also cites the as having given him the confidence to take on the colour palette.
Imran Potato Caveman Feet
Things don’t get more literal than Caveman Feet, and although they’re not technically sneakers, it was hard to justify leaving them off the list. Usually known for his bootlegs, the designer shook up the shoe-niverse by stepping out in the oversized slip-ons that came complete with veins, nail details and a carved-out Potato wordmark on the underside. Pretty gross, but there seems to be a market for anything foot-related these days!