2, or 3 years ago I posted about how footwear would/could become digitalised, how Nike was investing in VR like Roblox and Animation companies, and how the computer games industry was bigger than the music and film industry combined.
Ultimately it’s probably not surprising considering how large the digital and video games industry are, their profitability and influence, and how many children, and soon to be teenage core Nike customers already spend time in VR (where they already purchase digital products), or playing video games (instead of sport) .
Last week, almost 1 full 24 month creation/development cycle later, Nike introduced their 2024 Olympic kits and AI designed footwear in a way that further suggests this transition to a disrupting digitalised footwear and fashion alternative.
From the Nike Athletes posing in ways which reminded of a video game select screen.
To the many AI footwear designs on show.
Photos via Sneaker News
I was expecting at least wearable shoes from the world’s N.1 shoe company, anything less seems more like corporate art, or a student project.
However after a moment for it to sink in, I wonder if their unwearable concepts could they be Nike’s stepping stones for a future lived in VR, or AR? Because initially it may be necessary to bridge the gap for many older customers that are not as immersed in VR, by offering similar physical alternatives. In this massive redefining leap, maybe not so dissimilar from how music went from CD’s to Streaming.
Shoe designs that don’t need to be physically wearable, because they are meant to be worn in VR and AR. Their physical alternatives, accessories that will serve as ornaments and be like dolls/toys that you can buy and keep on your shelves, as a collectible if you really like them.
Despite this week’s cries of sexist apparel and unwearable designs, maybe Nike are further ahead in digitalising footwear and traditional product than we all imagine?
Need more evidence, wait to watch the Euro 2024 football tournament and probably also the Olympics, filmed with mobile 90m dynamic Filou Speedcam “Railcams” by PMT in the style of a EA Football video game.
So how could digital footwear be made and which business model could it follow, especially if it’s not a physical product?
Imagine if you could wear your social media feed. For example projecting the hundreds of digital footwear designs which are published on instagram every week to your feet, or on the feet of other people. The social media business model has shown to be very successful.
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Shoes and clothes that would be visible only with an AR headset, or glasses (or in VR) and you would pay for them individually, or as a subscription to the trendiest digital fashion online platform.
Of course AI, would also need to learn how to create 3D models, that are transferable to such a dynamic experience.
I’m really not sure about the future of physical shoes, if in 5 years AR/VR technology becomes used as often as we use cellphones today. Maybe in the future, shoes will exist only as very minimal generic foot coverings?
Imagine living with a more advanced Roblox in AR. Maybe ask a ten year old, if they can imagine it? You may be surprised to learn that even without VR goggles, they’re already buying in Robux.
Maybe we should begin to look at mass market fashion footwear as a digitalised product? Which indirectly could easily be more sustainable and significantly reduce pollution.
I wonder how many people in 1990’s imagined the transition from CD’s (plastic) to MP3’s, and how many who did were over 30 years old?
Because in just a few years, a generation who grew up playing Minecraft and buying digital products on Roblox will become Teenagers (from 13 to 19) and the main customers of Nike and other sneaker brands. I wonder if physical footwear and sustainable materials will become increasingly less relevant, if fashion footwear becomes digitalised?
Also consider that the video game industry, if I’m not mistaken is worth more than the Music and Movie industry combined, so consider the potential for growth in digitalising footwear.
Of course in the 1990’s almost nobody imagined, or prepared for the success of retro shoes (of which Nike, with Converse is the leader). So the opposite is also possible, and so it could be that mainstream fashion footwear is much more conservative that we imagine, even when it comes to new eco-friendly solutions.
Although it’s likely that most of the leading brands in the world are still hedging their bets, digitalisation is developing so fast, that the future of most non-essential product will probably be animated, digitally. And fashion could be made up of infinite digital masks and accessories. Already my 9 year old nephew is buying online with Robux.
Try and compare your once local music shop selling CD’s to Soundcloud.com today, then project this difference forward 20-30 years.
Of course digital footwear could just be a mirage, a footwear designer bubble, promoted by a relatively small group of tech aficionados, while the majority of people may continue to prefer wearing physical fashion for our lifetimes at least. Or ultimately humans may not be able to adapt fully enough to a digital, virtual world, which could lead to neurological, or physiological poor health?
Maybe Nike is simply operating through the John Donahoe CEO digital background lens? After all, for many years before he became CEO and since, Nike’s biggest revenue probably has come from old, retro designs created over 40 years ago. Maybe Nike’s biggest strength (for revenue) in the last 20 years has been in footwear heritage, more than sport performance innovation.
But since “the only constant in life is change”, I’m reminded that it’s probably just a matter of time until Nike creates and goes orbital with a new winning category.
Like they did 20 years ago with Retro when everyone thought Nike could only be a performance brand, incompatible with fashion. Nike could again show the world that they can be successful selling a new footwear product that this time is neither performance, nor fashion.
Timothy Leary once called the Internet the “New LSD”, and since soft drugs are increasingly becoming decriminalised, there could be a mind altering cultural convergence with dopamine driven internet use.
Maybe a disruptive transition to Digitalisation of Psychedelic Fashion for Psychoactive Pleasure and for Profit, away from the traditional physical Physioactive sport inspired solutions?
Since Product Design degree courses today are also teaching coding, in the future Product Design could easily merge with Social media that will probably evolve to become more intense and captivating.
If good and affordable AR and VR goggles come out, tomorrow’s teenagers could well upgrade from their cell phones to a more immersive online experience, and they probably wont be looking at each others physical shoes, if there can be a more intense digital alternative. Consider how long children today already spend on tablets and phones.
Of course it could also be that digital companies will offer more compelling and advanced digital products than traditional apparel and footwear companies like Nike. So just like sports shoe companies took a big share of the business from brown shoes, digital companies could in the future take from sport shoe companies.
Most likely, Nike with hundreds of designers and innovators is thinking a good deal further ahead and is much more deeply immersed in footwear innovation than me.
Their collective creativity should be hundreds of time bigger than mine and come to think about it I’m not sure I can have the slightest idea about their long term design goals, more so because I’ve never been in their inner leadership circle.
But it’s easy to see how footwear has become increasingly expressive through time. From brogueing patterns, to more intense synthetic colours, synthetic materials, embossing, foam soles, thicker running soles, injected clogs to 3D printed shoes and tomorrow, what will come next?
If you’re interested to see some of the sparks that ignite these posts, check out https://74fdc.tumblr.com