With every passing game the end of an era approaches. At the end of this season Michael Jordan will hang up his hoops shoes for good (at least as far as NBA play goes) and the shoes that he'll hang up are the latest in the storied Air Jordan line, the Air Jordan XVIII. Professor K caught up with its designer, Tate Kuerbis, at the North American International Auto Show a few weeks ago to talk about the XVIII, Michael, and athletic shoe design.
by Professor K, posted February 7, 2003
Prof. K: How does it feel to see MJ wearing a shoe that you designed...is it a real kick for you?
Tate: Oh yeah, definitely...especially because this is Michael's last year playing...to know that this would be the last shoe that he would play in, to see him wear the XVIII, it's pretty amazing.
Prof. K: What kind of feedback has he given you on the Air Jordan XVIII?
Tate: So far it's been really good. He was playing in the XVII+ when we went and met with him a month ago. We hadn't given him a shoe yet and he asked if we had an XVIII for him...Gentry [Humphrey -- Director of Product Marketing for Jordan] had a pair so we gave it to him. We told him that he couldn't wear it until a week before the playoffs and he said "okay, cool." Then, the next game, sure enough, he was wearing them. And he actually ended up wearing the same pair for two more games, which...
Prof. K: He usually wears a new pair every game...
Tate: Yeah, he always wears a new pair every game, so that was good feedback already, knowing that he wore it three games in a row. I think he likes it because it's really low to the ground. He's got the Zoom Air technology right under his feet so the cushioning has been really good. And he's said that, so far, it's been a good feel for him.
figure 1. This image shows Kuerbis' first sketch for the Air Jordan XVIII. Note that the core themes of an extremely clean, one-piece upper and a two-pod outsole have already been established.
Prof. K: How involved was MJ in the design process?
Tate: Pretty much all the way from beginning to end. Even when Wilson [Smith -- like Tate, a Senior Footwear Designer at Jordan] was finishing the XVII we went out and we asked him "we're going to be starting the XVIII soon, what do you think -- do you have any ideas?" So he threw out a few ideas and that was when he suggested that he wanted something really clean, he wanted a one-piece leather upper.
So we just took that with us and we went back and we started sketching and we went back maybe a few months later and showed him some drawings and a really, really rough shoe that we had mocked up. It wasn't even a completed shoe, it was just something where I took a piece of leather and I wrapped the shoe...and I had this color on the bottom so it was just all leather and then this color pop on the bottom. And we showed it to him and his reaction was "yeah, I can kind of see where that's going." So we just kept pushing it and kept working on it. Really, we try to see him every month or every two months. Maybe three or four times throughout the process, to keep him in the loop and make sure that he's on board the whole time.
Prof. K: I've heard a few people at Nike say that one of the great things about Michael (aside from the fact that he's one of the greatest to ever play the game) is his ability to articulate his thoughts about design and his own sense of style. Can you talk about that?
Tate: Michael is amazing, he's into all kinds of stuff. He's into these watches and he's knows all the history behind the watch...he knows everything about the cars he buys. And you can see...I mean he can kind of see into the future and talk about design and articulate about it...I mean, it's amazing. He throws out some really good ideas.
Prof. K: Was he the one who turned you on to the Lamborghini Murciélago?
Tate: No, that was last year, coming to the car show [the North American International Auto Show]. Gentry, he was hot on that just because he thought it was the coolest thing he saw here at the show.
Prof. K: How did you get picked to design the shoe? Do you guys draw straws or duke it out or what?
Tate: [laughter] No. Tinker was doing all of them up until the XV, and then Tinker started the XVI and passed it on to Wilson [Smith]. Then Wilson did the XVII and by the time Wilson finished the XVII he was pretty much fried. It's a really big project and it's pretty stressful. And so we just decided that we'd give Wilson a break and that I would give it a shot...and I was up for it.
figure 2. Shown here is Kuerbis' final sketch for the Air Jordan XVIII. Inset at the lower left is a photograph of the dress shoe that inspired the outsole treatment of the XVIII. This sketch also provides a good feel for the look of the forthcoming white/sport royal colorway of the shoe.
Prof. K: And how was it, was it a huge challenge?
Tate: Yeah, it was pretty stressful. Just because...I think for Tinker, because he started it and he always evolved it he could just keep on evolving it and he had a platform to work off of. Whereas, when you come in fresh, you're up against everything that Tinker had done -- all the Air Jordans -- and you realize that everybody has such a strong opinion about what the shoe should be and where it's been in the past. So you don't want to disappoint anybody and it's hard from that standpoint.
Prof. K: Was it helpful to have MJ in that regard? It seems like he's the kind of guy who wants to always push forward and not really look back.
Tate: Yeah, I knew that if Michael was happy I didn't care what anybody else thought...as long as Michael was satisfied and liked the shoe and it performed well then I did my job. If it doesn't sell a ton, you know, I can't control that. My goal was to make a shoe that Michael wanted to play in and liked and hopefully I've done that.
Prof. K: It seems like it given his 40 point performance the other night [laughter]. How much, if any, of your design was determined by the technical requirements for the shoe?
Tate: We pretty much start with the last [a last is a block of material molded into the shape of a foot -- it's the form that shoes are built around and the shape of the last used for a given shoe is what determines the shape of that shoe] and then we decide what technology is going to be in it. In the case of the XVIII that was Zoom Air, which determined the dimensions of the midsole. So we pretty much do that from the beginning...just because that's the engine, the guts of what we're doing, so we have to figure that out first and then build off of that.
Prof. K: And then stuff like the Jordan Carbon Comfort Control Plate, where did that come from – that's kind of a new element isn't it?
Tate: Yeah. Tinker, of course, started that in the XI when he did the first carbon plate and that worked out really well. Then just talking with different schools, colleges like Cincinnati...they put steel plates in their shoes. So we wanted to try to bring a feature to the sockliner because sockliners in the past have always been just pretty conventional...almost an afterthought. So we wanted to step that up even a little bit more and, actually, in the XIX we're going to take a step further, which will be cool.
figure 3. This composite, 3d rendered image allowed the Jordan team to see the XVIII in 3 dimensions before creating a physical prototype.
Prof. K: Did you know from the beginning that it was going to be a Zoom Air-based shoe because you wanted it to be low profile?
Tate: Yeah, we tested different Air bags and we got the best feedback from that configuration of doing the double-stacked Zoom in the heel and then the full-length Zoom in the forefoot...especially because the XVIII is double lasted. You're literally right on top of the Air bag so you can feel it.
Prof. K: What is the functional purpose of the Comfort Control Plate...is it an impact distribution thing?
Tate: Yeah, especially because it's underneath the heel of the foot and a little bit of the arch, but since everybody's arch is different we couldn't make it conform to the foot too much, so it's pretty generic. But I think...you can tell it adds a little bit to the arch.
And we also looked at driving shoes. Michael had a pair of these driving shoes and they had a lot of carbon [fiber] in them. At first we were testing out carbon right underneath the foot so it didn't have anything, but carbon touching...and actually we got...it's interesting because you would think that it would be really hard on the foot, but at the same time you really didn't feel it. It felt really comfortable, but we were afraid that the impact of a big basketball player could crack it and so we decided it would be safer to put it underneath the sockliner.
Prof. K: The heel looks like that was influenced by a racing shoe too, the way that the outsole wraps up.
Tate: Yeah, that was from a driving shoe.
Prof. K: Just out of curiosity, why did you decide to go with suede on the black colorway?
Tate: That was Michael. I mean, just like he wanted patent leather at one time, he's big into suede right now and so...Gentry knew that. And so we decided that we'd try to give it a shot and bring suede into a basketball shoe...no one's really done suede in a hoops shoe before so we figured we'd give it a shot.
Prof. K: And you guys included a few things in the box right?
Tate: A suede brush and then also kind of a driver's manual that talks about the technology of the shoe and how to take care of it. And there's also a sweat towel.
Prof. K: So the non-suede colorways won't come with a brush?
Tate: No.
figure 4. Shown here is the final two-dimensional illustration of the Air Jordan XVIII. Though a few small changes would be made on the way to production, this illustration reflects the completed design for the shoe.
Prof. K: Start to finish, how long would you say the design process for the shoe took?
Tate: A little over a year, I think it's about 18 months so about a year-and-a-half from start to finish. And that's when it gets launched, so that's about a year-and-a-half.
Prof. K: Is there any part of that process that you enjoy most? The concept phase, or the tweaking phase...
Tate: I like the beginning just because it's so open and you're just throwing out ideas. And then, probably at the end, where it finally kind of makes the turn...because, for a long time, you're looking at this thing going "this isn't going to work, this doesn't look good." Then, all of a sudden, you'll get a shoe back and you'll say "yeah, I can see this." And then, of course when Michael sees it and he approves of it -- then that's like "alright, it was worth all the pain and agony I went through."
Prof. K: You guys have to live in the future a little bit, how do you do that? How do you manage to stay so far ahead of the curve?
Tate: I don't know...you try to get inspired by something whether it's a car or anything, and then you just try to form an idea and try to look at what else is out in the market and just come up with a language that's different. That's probably the hardest part.
Prof. K: Related to that, it seems like there's always been a special link between the design of cars and shoes, in particular Michael's shoes. Any thoughts on why there's this link between cars and hoops shoes?
Tate: Shoes are kind of cars for your feet and, especially in New York, a lot of people don't have cars. They could talk about their personality by what they're wearing on their feet. And then, also, I think cars relate to shoes just from a materials standpoint...there's a lot of similarities. And since cars are always looking into the future it's easy for us to look at cars and see where the market is going from a color standpoint, a materials standpoint...just the language. You know, whether there's really hard edges, or soft edges. So...I mean, it's kind of sad that we always look at cars [laughter] – and we don't, we look at animals, we look at nature, we look at architecture. But it seems like cars are always part of it.
Prof. K: Is there anything in particular that you wanted to see today at the car show?
Tate: No, just anything and everything. I like the concept cars because they are looking into the future. And that's really where design can push the limits. So, it's kind of cool to see that.
figure 5. And here's the finished product "in the flesh." Can you spot the changes between it and the final illustration of the Air Jordan XVIII (to be fair, one of the changes is in the shape of the traction pod at the heel, which is not visible in this photo, but the one other noticeable change is visible)?
Prof. K: Have you designed anything other than shoes?
Tate: No, I basically started at Nike right out of school. I did an internship at a consultancy firm, they did product design, but basically I've been doing shoes since school.
Prof. K: When do you know you're done with something?
Tate: That's the toughest part. I think you just kind of realize that it's reached a certain point where, maybe you add a few more details, but the essence of it is there. That's a tough one...that's part of being a designer. You have to realize when enough is enough...when you're done with the design.
Prof. K: Do you work really closely with the materials people to define some of those details? One thing that I thought was cool about the XVIII was the iridescent material that lines the ankle vents, I thought that was a nice touch.
Tate: I mean sometimes it's just a conversion. Me and Gentry saying "it would be cool if we could throw something under there to give it some pop." Sometimes it's working with the materials designer and developing something that's new. And sometimes it's just kind of a happy accident. It's different every time.
Prof. K: Do you think that Jordan Brand will change once MJ retires for good?
Tate: I think we're going to have to start relying on the Jordan team like the Bibbys, the Ray Allens that we have. Maybe it's finding the next Jordan...we've got other players coming up. You know, we'll never be able to replace MJ, which is fine, I don't think we should even try. I think it's just staying true to the brand, and staying true to Michael and his design philosophy.
Prof. K: Do you think that he'll stay involved in the design process?
Tate: Yeah, I mean he's going to be playing a lot of golf [laughter], but he's a competitor and he believes in the brand, so I think he's going to want to be a part of it, which is cool.
Prof. K: What does make a Jordan Brand shoe a Jordan Brand shoe?
Tate: I think we've always approached the design of Jordan as being a little bit more simplified, a cleaner look...really paying attention to the details, whether it be materials or just the way you do the logo. Michael has never been into shoes that have all kinds of stuff on them. It's really been kind of an understated design, you know, kind of like a Ferrari or a higher-end car. And then we always try to come up with a language that's a little bit different than what everbody else is trying to do.
figure 6. Shown here are three of the guys who design the shoes that so many of us go gaga for. From left-to-right; D'Wayne Edwards, Wilson Smith, and Tate Kuerbis. They're looking at Aston Martin's beautiful AMV8 concept car, which you can see partially reflected in the glass partition visible in the lower portion of the photo. The amazing thing is that, not only are these guys extremely talented designers, they're also all about the nicest people you'd ever want to meet.
Prof. K: It seems like a lot of Jordan Brand products can also double as dress shoes...
Tate: Yeah, I mean there's definitely the fashion twist, kind of mixing fashion and technology. We really see Jordan as a platform where we can try things that are completely different. We're a part of Nike, but we're separate. We can really push the envelope. We don't have to follow the basic rules of designing a running shoe, we can do things completely different than they would do. And we're always trying to broaden the horizon, you know, it's not just basketball.
Prof. K: Where do you see athletic shoe design going, say, 10 years down the road? Do you think shoes will be really different or just an evolution of what we have today?
Tate: It's hard to say...I think it's just going to keep evolving. It seems like we're always rooted in the past and I think we'll always have the retro thing, but...it's hard to say. I don't know how far it can go, but 10 years from now, who knows. There can be a new technology that we've never thought about so I think the door's wide open.
Prof. K: We often receive email from readers who want to know how to become shoe designers. Do you have any tips or recommendations for budding shoe designers?
Tate: I'd say just keep drawing, keep a sketch book. Fill up your sketch book with all kinds of ideas and then build up a portfolio and maybe try to go to a design school. But, most importantly, just draw as much as possible and put your ideas down on paper. I mean, I never thought I would be a footwear designer so there are definitely opportunities out there.
Prof. K: Are you working on anything now that you'd like to (or are able to) talk about?
Tate: We're starting the XIX right now and I think it's going to be pretty interesting. I can't really say much, but...especially with Michael transitioning out of the game. We showed him some ideas and I think this one is really going to push things a little bit further. It's going to be a little bit unexpected.
Prof. K: Do you have any sort of a gut feeling on how the XVIII is going to do...what the reaction to it is going to be?
Tate: It's such a simple shoe...it's really simple. I hope that people will still gravitate towards it, even though it's simple. I don't know, we'll see.
Too true, only time will tell, but I have a feeling that the Air Jordan XVIII is going to do quite well (if you're not a fan of black-based shoes just wait a little while, the white-based colorways of the XVIII are hot!). In any case, much love to Tate Kuerbis for giving us so much of his time and knowledge. Thanks also to the entire team at Jordan Brand for being so giving of their time. If Tate's few tidbits about the XIX are any indication, Air Jordan fans will have plenty to look forward to for years to come.
|
