Sports brand Puma has based its latest Disc trainers on a fabric-covered concept car released by BMW. The shoe combines the futuristic design of PUMA’s DISC range with the streamlined power and efficiency of BMW. It takes inspiration from one of BMW’s most innovative concept cars: the GINA Light Visionary Model, which featured a seamless fabric outer shell that stretched over the car’s chassis. The concept car featured flexible fabric stretched over an articulated steel frame, which allowed the vehicle to change shape and conceal features such as headlights when not in use.
Puma teamed up with the Munich-based BMW subsidiary studio Designworks to create the trainer, which sees one thin and laser-cut layer of stretchable and super-light GINA material become the focal point of the design. It removes the need for multiple seams and instead allows the shoe to wrap around the foot like a second skin. Instead of using laces, a rotating disc pulls internal wires to open and close the shoe. The Designworks team adapted the lightweight material used in the GINA, making it more breathable and durable for the shoe. A pattern of laser-cut holes across the front of the trainer provides extra ventilation, and the shape of the sole was inspired by the gears of a car engine.
According to Puma, the trainer, which takes cues from automotive design thinking, provides greater flexibility and further stability to the wearer. Instead of laces, the shoe is tightened or loosened by turning a rotating disc on the upper part of the shoe (which also sports the iconic BMW logo). The tauter the material is pulled, the more the underlying structure of the trainer is revealed. Puma first introduced the Disc design in 1991 and has since released several models featuring the same rotating mechanism. Adidas has plans to release its own lace-free shoe, unveiling the first images of its knitted football boots in 2015.
The BMW x PUMA X-CAT DISC will be available in select PUMA stores around the world on July 1. If that's not enough for you, the American sportswear brand Under Armour has also experimented with new materials and methods of production, releasing trainers with 3D-printed lattice soles that are designed to be suitable for any sport. This isn’t the first time a car manufacturer has ventured into the world of boutique trainers either. Earlier this year saw the release of the Ultra Boost from Porsche Design by adidas. Whatever next, the Ford dress shoe?
