Nike Flywire

Nike Flywire is a thread, composed of Vectran or nylon, and developed by Nike, used in the upper of a shoe. The goal of Flywire is to minimize weight and maximize support. Shoes containing Flywire became available for consumer purchase in 2008.

Development

Flywire was created by Jay Meschter, Director of Innovation at Nike. He began by taking a last (an object shaped like a foot used to design shoes) and marking the key points of where a shoe needs to support the foot. When Meschter saw an embroidery machine, he determined the machine could be used to make long stitches. Long stitches, containing strong, lightweight fibers, would allow fibers to support the foot in key points, instead of using layers of material that support the whole foot.

Design

The goal of the design is to help and support the foot using the lightest and strongest material possible, Vectran. The Flywire design (threads placed in key parts of the upper) prevents the foot from slipping when running. Flywire is also a minimalist idea (the idea that items should only contain necessities), since the upper only contains the fundamental features. This allows the maximum amount of energy to be moved forward each stride.