Tinker Hatfield Presents the Nike HyperAdapt 1.0 at Niketown london

The NIKE HYPERADAPT 1.0 is set to take the stage once again, as it reaches European soil this week. To assist with the UK launch, the legendary Tinker Hatfield was at Niketown London to show his handiwork and answer questions about the shoe itself and the technology within.

We’ve taken a look at the HyperAdapt 1.0 already, but knowing that nothing compares to seeing a shoe in the flesh, when we were invited to an exclusive first look at Niketown London, we jumped at the opportunity. Once at the venue, a virtual reality booth welcomed us and other attendees to ‘The Sneaker Cube’ for a 360-degree virtual tour of Tinker’s Portland office. His digital alter ego took us through the inspiration behind the shoe’s creation, giving us a unique insight into how the creative process works on a project as monumental as this. Following this, guests were invited to try on and test the full capabilities of the HyperAdapt technology. Upon putting your foot into the shoe, a pressure pad automatically tightens the uppers when force or weight is applied to the heel. To adjust the fit perfectly, two buttons built into the upper allow users to tighten or loosen the shoe accordingly. Far from feeling like a gimmick, the automation and the science behind it is clearly a giant step forwards for footwear design.

Of course, it’s impossible to separate the self-lacing concept from the Nike Mag and the Back to the Future movie franchise. Tinker told us, “When I thought of this shoe for a movie, the Air Mag, it prompted me to think about 30 years from now. The movie allowed me to think beyond what we were doing at the time.”. The HyperAdapt technology is still in its infancy: we’ve already heard rumours about similar innovations using zips and other fastenings being utilised. When asked what’s on the horizon for adaptive technology, Tinker explained, “The basketball shoe is still in development. It will be quite different-looking: it’ll be a lightweight, high performance shoe for the best players in the world”. With that to look forward to, we explored the space further, absorbing as much of the experience as we could.

The NIKE HYPERADAPT 1.0 is due to drop in two colourways on FRIDAY 29 SEPTEMBER: click the banner below to check the release pages at NIKE ahead of the drop.