Shoes in general have become too expensive, but the $720 Nike HyperAdapt may take the cake. Totally tech’d out, the innovative model from the Swoosh saw a WIRED Magazine rollout, introducing the world to auto-lacing innovation first imagined by the Beaverton brand in the ’80s when consulted for Back to the Future II.
Ground breaking? For sure. Bank busting? Most definitely. While Nike would love to see everyone walking around in auto-lacing shoes, Tinker Hatfield agrees that the price is too high now, but signals that it will eventually change.
“It’s not realistic to think everybody can go out and spend £600 (~$790 USD) on a pair of sneakers,” said designer Tinker Hatfield in an interview with HYPEBEAST recently in London. “But our costs of development are so high, that’s just where it headed out. Over time, those costs will keep diminishing and we’ll be able to pass those savings over to the consumer.”
Nike HyperAdapt 1.0“It’s not realistic to think everybody can go out and spend £600 on a pair of sneakers.” – Tinker Hatfield
Just how soon? That remains to be seen, but Hatfield cites the computer industry as an example for where the HyperAdapt is at right now. “The first desktop computer was quite expensive and the more they made, the less expensive they get and the easier it is to do the next one without spending so much money, and that’s gonna happen here,” Hatfield notes. “These are expensive but they’ll become less and less expensive.”
So, where does Hatfield eventually see the HyperAdapt line going? The Chuck Taylor for the future, perhaps. “[The HyperAdapt is] like a Converse low-top, only for the future. This could become a classic because it’s so simple.”
While the next iteration of the HyperAdapt is said to be built for basketball, the world still waits to see it. Just how much would you pay for an auto-lacing shoe? Let us know in the comments section.
