Nike Sportswear: The Story Of The Nike Air Vapormax 2020 Flyknit
A silhouette that finds itself at the core of Nike’s Move to Zero initiative, the Nike Air Vapormax 2020 Flyknit is a revolutionary profile inspired by environmental mindfulness and Nike’s self-addressed journey toward producing zero carbon and zero waste whilst protecting the future of sport. Influenced by the concept that the future of sustainable design is driven by human ingenuity, the Nike Air Vapormax 2020 Flyknit pairs circular design methodologies with an unwavering sense of evolutionary optimism.
A process committed to creating products that not only last longer but are mindful of their inevitable end of life discardment, Nike’s Circular Design manufacturing technique stays true to its ode to circularity in its efforts to minimise environmental impact in turn with delivering performative excellency. Diverting over 6.4 billion plastic bottles from landfills since 2010 and with a desire to reduce carbon emissions across its global supply chain by 30% by 2030 in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement, the brand’s advanced Move to Zero solution to sustainability has been continually met with unchallenged confidence, with new designs and updated favourites such as the Nike Space Hippie 01, Nike D/MS/X Waffle and Nike Daybreak Type addressing ecological purpose alongside other consciously-generated programs such as Nike’s drop-off Reuse-A-Shoe scheme and their pioneering Nike Grind initiative.
Born from a desire to leverage the content of industrial waste streams, the Nike Air Vapormax 2020 Flyknit is coined one of the brand’s most sustainable shoes to date, made from at least 50% recycled content by weight. Expanding on the ethos instigated by the explorative ‘no resupply mission’ Nike Space Hippie series that debuted in mid-2020, the sneaker combines brought-to-life ‘Rawthenticity’, sporting performance and ultra-urban aesthetics to create a deconstructed ode to determined function. Host to the first ever full-length Vapormax Air unit, the 2020 reinterpretation utilises 75% recycled material across its bubbled sole, an advance on its usual 50% construction initiated in 2008, whilst its post-industrial recycled Flyknit upper pairs, on average, 67% recycled content by weight sourced from components including recycled plastic bottle waste. It’s marbled aesthetic and deconstructed appeal aids in the design’s overall ecological allure, with both the multi-tonal Nike Grind outsole trims and the polychromatic recycled TPU heel-clip serving their purpose with respect to all-terrain performance.
As declared by Nike product design lead Jesi Small, Nike “wanted to make a sustainably-sourced silhouette from the ground up, and one that is quick and easy to put on and wear daily”. Influenced by the demands of modern-day life, integrated Nike FlyEase technology retains the brand’s tailored-to-sport undertone with respect to modernised innovation. The one-handed lock and release mechanism answers the demands of how shoes should function, whilst the molded dual-density Ortholite sockliner amplifies underfoot comfort beside the 80% recycled foam tongue for an updated sense of support that hails from heritage track-and-field pioneers. Offering a circularity-minded spin on the 2017-released Nike Air Vapormax designed by the Vice President of Cushioning Innovation Kathy Gomez, the Nike Air Vapormax 2020 Flyknit’s pinwheel-certified crossover appeal not only denotes the intersection between sporting and urban lifestyle, but the fusion that encompasses the need to address responsible resourcing in line with the escalating climate crisis.
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