Nike has unveiled a collection of 13 futuristic sports shoes designed for top athletes like Kylian Mbappe using artificial intelligence in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics this summer.
The event on Thursday at the Palais Brongniart in Paris featured a showcase of prototype shoes for personalities like sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge, and NBA star Victor Wembanyama.
The designs themselves, not available for sale, stood out with dramatic features such as a fabric loop wrapping around Ms. Richardson’s ankle with deep track shoes, and sharp transparent fins protruding from the back of the model Mr. Mbappe.
According to Nike, the shoes were designed by conducting interviews with the brand’s top athletes, then running their design ideas through artificial intelligence models to generate prototype ideas.
The models were named as part of the “A.I.R.” collection, which stands for Athlete Imagined Revolution, playing on the brand’s famous air bubble technology.
The company has been using gas-filled bubbles in the soles of some models since the 1970s, becoming one of the brand’s most prominent design features.
In a press release, John Huck, the brand’s innovation chief, said: “No going back. Form and function must meet imagination.”
The grand showcase in Paris featured augmented reality statues of Nike athletes like LeBron James, previews of the company’s national kits for various Olympic teams, and the presence of famous guests like rapper Travis Scott.
