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With all the talk about how dope it would be to own the Grammy or AJ VI-soled Yeezy sample, take a load of these prototypes and realize how many different forms the Air Yeezy could have taken. Though we’ve previously seen an inside look at the production process, Nike’s Mark Smith and Tiffany Beers discuss several ideas, dead-ends and problems they encountered while trying to execute the best possible version of Nike’s first non-athlete signature shoe.
Ever wonder why images of the glow-in-the-dark soles look so bright? It’s not photoshopped if that’s what you’re thinking. The design team meticulously experimented with different mixes of rubber to get the brightest and long lasting glow without compromising the integrity of the sole. But even before they decided on the glow route, Kanye pushed for a battery-operated illuminating sole. Some may speculate he would want something like this, trying to embrace the futuristic aura of the “most likely never to be retailed,” Marty McFly prototype. Nonetheless, Nike found it to be more practical to drop this concept. Not only was the glow agreed to make a better look, those who were able to grab a pair of Air Yeezy’s would have supposedly been paying far more if they contained this electro luminescence technology.
It seems that most of the design variations lied in the aesthetics of the midsole. One of the images after the jump shows a very rare look samples of midsoles with “Death Star” contours where an air bag would typically be on Nike’s. Fortunately for us, the final product donned a more familiar look endearing to most sneakerheads’ hearts. Hold up Kanye, Nike can’t use Jordan templates! Behold a clever solution… thanks to Yeezy himself, actually. The canny artist managed to surpass a technicality by using the tooling for the Nike Air Assault Retro, which is pretty much the same midsole as the Air Jordan III but has Nike branding on the sole. What would we do without Kanye’s strive to go the distance? Not a dope shoe, and certainly not a plethora of samples. Be sure to check out the images below for an even more in-depth look at the making of the Air Yeezy. via SC.
15 Responses to “Nike Air Yeezy – Tooling Design Process”
September 15th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
it’s always cool to see what happens behind the scenes on the production line….but I am still not diggin the kix.
September 15th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
love the yeezys i wish they were affordable but oh well and btw kanye was an asshole to taylor swift regardless whether beyonce should’ve won
September 15th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
First.
September 15th, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Thats pretty dope. I wish he would have stuck with the y print bottoms instead of the jordan 3 bottoms, it would have made the shoe more OG
September 15th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
Fuck kanye and his shoe!!!!
September 15th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Yeah I said it!
September 15th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I luv the shoe , hate the guy
September 15th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
yeah you said it!
hope nike regrets it and make wearable shoes
September 16th, 2009 at 8:23 am
yeah same love the shoe hate the fool
September 16th, 2009 at 11:17 am
It’s the MTV Awards…seriously, and it’s best music video.
BEST MUSIC VIDEO. Who really cares that Beyonce didn’t win Best Music Video.
Not even the grammy’s. Guy’s an idiot.
LMFAO put your neck out cause Beyonce didn’t win best music video.
No class
September 16th, 2009 at 11:46 am
man everyone knows MTV is racist thats why he jumped on stage. But are those OG 3′s in his hand why can’t they just mass produce all og’s for a year
September 16th, 2009 at 11:54 am
So nice to finally see people coming to the realization that Kanye West is a Self Centered piece of Sh*t. He has been for a long time but it took his latest stunt to make the nation realize it!! I wish Nike would’nt do work with him, but in my mind the Air Yeezy matches Kanye’s personality perfect…UGLY
September 16th, 2009 at 11:59 am
yea kanye is a douche but i like his beats, u’d think with all the technology nile has they could make an air force 1 that doesnt crease on the top
September 19th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
yea da shoes are nice, his actions are immature
January 19th, 2010 at 3:02 am
Kanye always said he’s an asshole but we never paid attention to it so when he did that it wasn’t really new to me but the sad part is he’s mother not here to put him in check once you lose that you go out of control then the fakes get in your ear and that’s when things really get ugly and drinking a bottle of jack that the mtv award show allowed him to take in side and they never allow regular folks do that so what he did was uninspected to us but not to mtv