Gallery: Only Women Get to Wear Adidas' Wild New Shoe

  • Image may contain Shoe Clothing Footwear Apparel Human Person and Sneaker
    Adidas
    01

    PureBOOST X - Product 03

    Adidas's newest shoe, the PureBoost X, launches today. It has a flexible, sock-like mesh upper, and a sole made of Adidas's foam Boost technology. It's also designed just for women.
  • Image may contain Banister Handrail Footwear Clothing Apparel Shoe Shorts Human Person and Railing
    Adidas
    02

    PureBOOST X - Running 02

    Adidas decided to focus in earnest on women's feet after spotting a trend. The athletics company sponsors a number of marathons, half-marathons, and shorter races like 5Ks. In recent years, the participation rate for those events has skewed more and more female—evidence that the marketplace for women runners is growing, globally.
  • Image may contain Clothing Apparel Shoe Footwear Sneaker and Running Shoe
    Adidas
    03

    SS16-PureBOOST X-PR-FW-Det-01

    With that in mind, Adidas used motion-capture technology to analyze women's feet. They found that the female foot experiences a lot of expansion in the forefoot.
  • Image may contain Clothing Footwear Apparel Shoe Running Shoe and Sneaker
    Adidas
    04

    SS16-PureBOOST X-PR-FW-Det-05

    To cater to that, this shoe has an unusual design detail: Where the upper and sole would normally fuse together around the arch, there’s open space.
  • Image may contain Clothing Apparel Shoe Footwear Running Shoe and Sneaker
    Adidas
    05

    SS16-PureBOOST X-PR-FW-Det-02

    The floating arch functions like an extra-sturdy sock—when it’s not glued to the sole, the arch can move while still providing support. The result, Adidas says, is a design that accommodates the range of motion and expansion observed in the female foot.
  • Image may contain Clothing Apparel Footwear Shoe and Woven
    Adidas
    06

    SS16-PureBOOST X-PR-FW-Det-04

    Traditionally, it’s the sole’s job to provide arch support. Here, Adidas’s designers have assigned that task to the upper.
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