Gimmick Or Game-Changer? On Creates Shoe With Superhero Inspired Tech
Swiss brand, On are already having one hell of a 2024, announcing actress, fashion icon and “voice of a generation”, Zendaya to their roster as a new brand partner. But they could be mistaken for drawing inspiration from her boyfriend, Tom Holland’s most notable character, as they reveal a new technology that could shape the future of super shoe advancements.
LightSpray™ looks to be a technology inspired by Spiderman and his web shooters. In fact it was the brainchild of a mysterious product designer by the name of Johannes, whose prototype was spotted by the right people at On.
To announce the technology, an intriguing 8 minute film was released which detailed this discovery and subsequent process that led to On’s first LightSpray™ shoe being worn in a competitive race.
The film brings to life exactly how you’d expect product development to happen. Janky prototypes, endless failures, scientific visualisations of data, jeopardy. Jeopardy because the running shoe industry has seen its fair share of gimmicks.
The mind is cast back to the Nike Joyride, in which 10,000+ beads in the midsole would supposedly shape around your foot providing personalised cushioning before bouncing back to propel you forward. Or the 2004 computerised shoe, the Adidas 1 which using a microchip, would measure your gait and adapt its cushioning level to best serve you.
One thing that connects all of these advancement attempts is a quest for personalisation, whether digital or organic. On’s LightSpray™ is not dissimilar in this sense, offering a fit that can literally be shaped to ones foot.
The true test in any super shoe is how it stacks up in competition. And On put their shoe to the test on one of the biggest stages possible - A marathon major. Monday 15th April saw reigning Boston champion, Helen Obiri lace up slip on what the brand called the On Cloudboom Strike LS and set off in a bid to retain her title.
Obiri went on to win the 2024 Boston Marathon, highlighting another important achievement in her career. Not only did the victory reinforce her position among top marathon runners, it was the proof in the pudding that On LightSpray™ can be more than a gimmick and perhaps pave the way for new super shoes which for a long time have relied on carbon plates as their selling points.
