crooked tongues magazine News Features

No, we haven't started sketching our own shoes. We tried that once. We probably won't try it again. It's that time-of-year when Nike and Jordan Brand's Future Sole design competition reaches voting stage, and 2010's contenders are pretty strong. We spend much of our waking hours sneering at the latest footwear because if it's not an update it's a hybrid. And if it isn't the former, too often it's a retro. We've seen some crazy developments lately— Terra Sertig 1 and 2 mashups? But forgetting all that, we love seeing the newness, and this year Nike's delivered in serious style. For a few years we wondered what would be on the market to inspire the next generation of sneaker designers other than brand archives spilling onto shelves time after time. We want to see something different, so we actively support the Future Sole initiative. It's easy to tut and sneer at the current state of things, blankly staring with cool guy apathy, but it's significantly more difficult to design a whole new shoe.

For 2010, the Future Sole finalists are split into 4 groups of 6 finalists—College Nike N7, College Jordan, Highschool Nike SB and Highschool Jordan. Register and vote to determine the final 2 from each group, leading to a winner in each field receiving tons of product, cash for their school or college and the kind of work experience we would've killed for in the days before we became grizzled and cynical. One day, one of those lucky winners could might even get a nerdy interrogation from the Crooked Tongues team as they rise through the ranks of Nike's design elite. Our continued interest in performance output could be in the hands of a Future Sole winner. No pressure then. We were interested to see that the power of the Huarache's neoprene comfort still seems to resonate throughout several of the showcased illustrations. What melted our brains in 1992 still seems to affect an impressionable young audience—that's the power of great design. Hopefully those crowned champion will take up that baton for future brilliance.

Voting closes on Tuesday 20th of July at www.futuresole.com