Interview about Kateem trail running shoe, winner of the A' Footwear, Shoes and Boots Design Award 2016
A light weight trail running shoe that uses innovative materials and production techniques but also builds on traditional know-how to create a new running experience. The upper is made from semi-rigid panels like a stretchy exoskeleton - robust, water repellant and breathable. It has a carbon toe cap and precisely defined flex zones. Traditional lacing is easily adjustable, the sock-like inner and custom 3D printed insole guarantee perfect fit. The midsole is thin and has variable tread inlays. Feet are well protected and supported - empowering runners to perform better.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsWell, it is actually rather simple: The carbon fibre toe cap provides great protection while also being extremely lightweight. In combination with the other semirigid panels it forms the flexible and stretchy exoskeleton. Providing real protection without much actual weight leads to a great running experience.
The idea here is really to use innovative and new manufacturing technologies to create something inspired and useful. Being able to create a personalized, ergonomic insole with the right materials in no time has incredible potential and gives a whole new meaning to the concept of tailor-made performance products.
The design process in this case was quite interesting. During the initial phase several different proposals were explored through sketches and quick foam models. With the general design direction chosen the design was further developed and based on a solid shoe last. This helped to make sure the ergonomic aspect was guaranteed while the expressive shape of the running shoe was actually created and modelled in clay.
Traditional shoe lacing works great and is very flexible. It is also very simple which makes it work reliably and really quite hard to beat. So the decision to keep this aspect and combine it with more advanced materials and production techniques happened quite early on. Sometimes it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel.
The trail running segment is very interesting and competitive. There are several players. Each with a very unique approach and identity. Function and performance are key in this market and we wanted the design to reflect this rough and hardcore segment. That's when we came up with the idea of the semi-rigid and lightweight exoskeleton.
This extended period of continuous formal research and refinement was a necessary aspect of the whole design process. After the initial creative phase there was also an important part in which the shape of the physical clay model had to be translated into a more realistic mock-up made from textiles and other more realistic materials.
A trail running shoe needs to have a good balance between protection and support on the one side and flexibility and adaptability on the other side. Analysing how and where more flexible zones are needed lead to the idea of dedicated flex openings and semirigid external panels for the upper. This also opened the opportunity for a rather unusual and expressive shape of the shoe. Together with the striking colour range this creates a visual statement that sets the shoe apart from the competition.
The idea here is that different terrain requirements can be translated into different specifications for the whole sole assembly and its materials. A variable tread inlay gives the opportunity to fine tune the shoe's specification and behaviour to very specific needs. A nice feature and also a competitive advantage.
I really hope that Kateem will have an impact on the trail running sector and maybe even beyond that. And to be honest, I have already seen some of the conceptual ideas showing up in other interesting products since Kattem was presented as well. I'm mainly referring to visually more expressive shapes and 3D printing as a new production method.
It was very important from the beginning to develop a visual form language for the shoe that would be based in functional necessities, but also express the competitive nature of trail running in an appropriate way. This can be seen in the sculptural aspects of the shape as well as the chosen materials and the striking colour scheme.
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