Part publicity stunt, part technological push, sneaker brand On has debuted a show for the Paris Olympics that is partly applied by spraying on a textile upper, of which there’s not even a name for yet.
The shoe in question is called the Cloudboom Strike LS trainer, and takes approximately 3 minutes to apply to an athlete’s foot. The textile upper, called LightSpray, is sprayed onto a foam rubber and carbon fiber sole.
The benefits, aside from being a great marketing stunt, are the lightweight and form-fitting factor that the spray-on technology provides. Indeed, marathon runner Hellen Obiri was skeptical when she first saw the sneakers, claiming she wouldn’t be able to run in shoes that don’t have laces. However, she went on to win the Boston Marathon this year, while wearing a prototype pair of the On shoes.
In addition, On claims that the uppers have a 75% reduction in carbon used to create the uppers over their traditional materials.
Read more on Dezeen:
