Serena Williams recently unveils a laceless iteration of the Air Force 1 alongside Nike with the brand new LXX Zip design model. The shoes are adorned in a summit white color option with tumbled leather making up the upper. It is then marked with a golden zipper right at the forefoot, replacing where the laces rest usually.
The lateral side of the shoe has a double Swoosh accent embroidered onto the silhouette. The athlete's signature is also stitched onto the heel tab in the same regal color. The logo on the shoe reads "10 4 01" which is a celebration of diversity and inclusion, finding itself on the tongue section. All of this sits atop a crispy white sole unit foundation.
Image Credit: Nike
What's Driving This Trend
- Zippered Sneakers
- The rise of zippered sneakers presents opportunities for brands to explore innovative shoe designs that provide easy wearing experience.
- Collaborative Shoes
- Collaborative shoe development between athletes and designers offers fresh perspectives and can lead to highly-desirable, limited-edition products.
- Laceless Sneakers
- The emergence of laceless sneakers suggests possibilities for shoe companies to explore new and unconventional closure systems.
Who This Affects Most
- Athletic Footwear
- The athletic footwear industry can innovate by exploring unique design options such as laceless sneakers, zippers, and collaborations with athletes to appeal to a wider consumer base.
- Fashion and Apparel
- The fashion and apparel industry can take advantage of the trend of collaborative shoes with athletes and designers to provide customers with unique, limited-edition products and expand their brand's reach.
- Textile and Leather Manufacturing
- The textile and leather manufacturing industries can explore innovating new materials and techniques for creating high-quality and comfortable shoes that feature new closure systems like zippers.
