The Story Behind the Air Force 1 Ultra Flyknit



Johnsongriffin’s frankensteined model instantly clicked, as it maintained the integrity of the traditional shoe, with the added comfort of the Nike Roshe One. The design team next made a sample using multicolor Flyknit material. The development of the lightest Air Force 1 ever was officially underway, shepherded by a collaborative team of footwear engineers, developers, last engineers, Flyknit programmers, 3D designers and product line managers.
From the beginning, the team insisted on keeping the concentric circles of the archetype sole’s shoe pivots, in addition to its AIR lettering and tooling. They decided to deboss instead of emboss the lettering and use injected unit rubber tooling instead of polyurethane tooling to make the shoe even lighter. They also insisted on keeping the 52 stars on the rubber toe piece.

When applying Flyknit, the teams collaborated to engineer the exact structures and textures necessary to maintain the shape and paneling of the original Air Force 1. They focused on keeping the original stance of the tip, saddle, foxing and vamp, as well as the perforations in the vamp, by programming thicker, firmer yarn on the raised tip and undulating eye stay.
Flyknit technology enabled the design team to precisely micro-engineer every stitch to create the featherweight upper for maximum comfort and minimal weight, while it also reduced manufacturing waste and the amount of material used. The shoe became not only the lightest Air Force 1 ever made, approximately half the weight of the original, but also the first Flyknit shoe to include a leather Swoosh logo.
The Air Force 1 Flyknit is available online here and in selected size? stores, priced at £150.
In the meantime, you can take a look at our brief history of Flyknit technology here.

