Nike ISPA Is Leaving Nothing On The Cutting Room Floor

Athletic shoes aren’t made just for burpees and 5K runs. They’re for the daily commuters and urban explorers who dodge, duck, dip, and dive through unevenly paved sidewalks, busy intersections, and sometimes dog poop. Generally speaking, this category can be simplified with a blanket industry term called “lifestyle”, but Nike is focusing on what’s essential to the resourceful consumer and zeroing in on the mentality of today’s traverser of urban environments. In comes ISPA, a division under the Nike Design Exploration umbrella, that since its late-2018 debut has pumped some truly wack goods that has no plans of leaving anything on the cutting room floor – literally.
 
 
While the initial offerings by ISPA leaned more towards a futurist aesthetic, these latest offerings seem to focus a little better on their ethos of Improvise, Scavenge, Protect, and Adapt. Some of the footwear here might not have made it past early sampling stages years ago, but aren’t we done with the “everyman” shoe anyway? It really helps to hear first-hand accounts from the ISPA footwear designers themselves, and luckily Nike is allowing you access via an immersive digital learning space on ispa.live on July 6th at 12PM ET, so you won’t want to miss that.
 

We’ll start off by pointing out that this is simply the craziest Nike sneaker ever produced. Like the concept cars in the automotive industry, the Road Warrior is an all-out demonstration of excess that doesn’t seem right for retail. Only, these are coming out at retail, and there’s nothing really excessive about the shoe. With the idea of the future of urban environment in mind, the Road Warrior upper features a rubber cage, buckles, and a knit-patched shell – all scavenged from scraps, early training shoe prototypes, and outdoor apparel. It’s a highly functioning beast of a sneaker that features double-stacked Zoom at the forefoot – referencing the pioneering Zoom Alphafly NEXT% – and a hollow heel that nods to the functional principles of Nike Shox. The Road Warrior releases globally on July 17th for a whopping $500, and it’s worth every penny.
 

The ISPA OverReact is probably the most familiar sneaker of the bunch. It shares a number of common elements with the React Element 87, a shoe that is considered to be somewhat of a predecessor to ISPA as a whole, so you already have an idea of how it will fit and feel. The OverReact was all about maximum comfort, with its gluttonous approach to cushioning resulting in a high-volume React outsole. The traction pattern itself mimics the terrain of a canyon valley viewed from an airplane, although the geometry is engineered based on heat-map data. There is no sock-liner or strobel, meaning every step is full Foam indulgence. The patchy upper is built entirely of Flyknit made from recycled materials, while the colorways were dictated by whatever excess scraps was available for use. Assisting in the sock-like feel is the easy on/off closure system. Both colorways will release globally on July 9th.

The OverReact sole tooling is also featured in an alternate sandal model that features a stripped down upper – suitable for warmer weather. The design itself is inspired by functional improvisation that involves stripping down a design to its barest essentials without compromising comfort or protection. The OverReact Sandal will be available on July 31st.

In continuing the theme of stripping down to the bare minimum, the ISPA Flow is inspired by “gram shaver” culture in which extreme sport athletes literally shave off excess pieces of their footwear to minimize weight. You can tell by the pictures that it weight close to nothing. Enlarged vents at the mid-foot upper and heel provide air flow in and out around the foot, while the perforated sole acts as an air intake for maximum cooling. Just don’t wear these in the rain. The two-pronged bumper should provide more stability for walking as side to side rocking should be limited. The ISPA Flow launches on August 13th in two colorway options.

Looking back to 1996’s Air Rift, the Drifter is a modern take on traditional Japanese work boots, complete with tabi-toe construction, exposed tapings and stitch seams, and a stable lockdown fit via a unique fastening system. The heel midsole lips outward for that armored appeal seen in women’s lifestyle models, which only accentuates the form of the upper. Pieces of the midsole are built with regrind ZoomX foam, ensuring a cushy and supportive ride that meets the standards of performance runners. The ISPA Drifter drops later this year on September 1st.

Much like the footwear, the ISPA apparel references past marvels and makes improvements and alternations where necessary. The Inflate Jacket, for example, is derived from 2006’s Airvantage jacket that featured an inflatable membrane. The ISPA Pants have heavy BMX, motocross, and sky-diving vibes to it, while the bodysuit and top exemplify the deep research that Nike does on body temperature and sweat-mapping. The Nike ISPA Apparel will launch this Fall 2020 globally.