Nike Officially Reveal the KD 12Release: 6 April 2019 Colourway: Black/White
Colourway: Black/White
Following a leak earlier this month, and a preview from Durant himself, Nike have officially unwrapped the upcoming KD 12.
Once again helmed by Leo Chang, the KD 12 emphasises the KD lineup's balance of comfort and responsiveness, but does so by reimagining construction norms and turning the strobel — the thin woven textile between the sockliner and midsole that traditionally provides structure and support for the shape of the upper — into a dynamic performance driver by replacing it with a full-length articulated Zoom bag that's stitched directly to the upper. The result is a more dynamic Air unit and one that should provide an even better fit for the wearer: since the strobel defines the actual size of the shoe itself, there's a different Air unit for every half-size of the KD 12 — all the way from size 3.5 to Durant's own 18 — for 'the most specific Air-Sole size scale that Nike has ever undertaken'.
And the articulated Zoom strobel is just one element of the KD 12's cushioning system. A perforated Phylon midsole provides additional comfort beneath the strobel, while another double-stacked Zoom unit is embedded in the heel. Beneath that sits full-length translucent TPU that extends up the sidewall for stability, and a translucent multi-directional articulated traction outsole further highlights all of the tech in the midsole.
The tooling isn't the only point of emphasis for the tech savvy kicks, though. Nike also employed brand new Quad Axial Flywire that sees independent Flywire cables engineered in four directions for dynamic containment. The silhouette also utilises a hinged tongue that offers the comfort of an inner bootie, but is much easier to take on and off.
Debuting in a clean black/white combo, Nike's KD 12 'The Day One' drops April 6.
