adidas NEMEZIZ Design Q&A : Interviews : Soccer Bible

Taking the stage by the tape and coating the foot in all kinds of creative thinking, the adidas NEMEZIZ boot is fresh from heel to toe. Sitting down with just two of the guys behind the scenes at adidas football we got down into the detail in exploring this latest innovation to lead the game.

So starting at the top, can you define what everything 'Nemeziz' mindframe means?

“The intent and our brief was to design a new disruptive franchise around agility. Our franchises before this have always moved from authentic to progressive in design. We have classics like the Mundial, Mundial Team and the most recent Copa 17 and then our control franchise thrives with ACE and X and then on the agility side, we wanted to do something completely disruptive and something that had never been seen before and that’s what we did with Nemeziz. That was the challenge but with that we also wanted to keep that mentality of ‘stadium to street’ running throughout.”

Is there a mentality for the type of player that will wear this boots?

“We started with Messi in mind as the godfather of this franchise. We were inspired by his movement and we wanted to create the perfect agility in a shoe because he is this kind of player who moves through the field in his own dynamic way, you don’t know where he is going to show up next so him as a player provided the perfect inspiration.”

“When it came to creating the product, we moved away from the realm of football and tried to look at other sports or activities that involve great agility so we looked at boxing, we looked at dancing and in particular ballet and we looked and martial arts - what all these sports have in common is that the people involved with tape their hands or ankles before they go out to perform. They enter this kind of meditation state and we wanted to bring that into this boot. It was the perfect start for a new shoe for adidas and we wanted to get that in from the start with this shoe.”

“For the first prototypes, we took boxing tape and we started playing around with it and strapping it around the foot in a number of ways. We wrapped it around soleplate to make it a more complete boot and having watched the way boxers tape their hands and feet, it provided a real strong starting point for the shoe.”

It's a groundbreaker for adidas football, would you say?

“I think it’s a whole new way for shoe making. Taking the inspiration of taping and developing a complete design language out of it has formed a culture in itself. It’s about preparing for battle which is something that is involved in all ways we play the game whether it’s stadium, pitch or street and it was really an evolution from our experiments with taping the foot. Then we started developing the material, working with the collar of the boot and the feedback was getting better all the time as we were progressing through prototypes.”

“It’s important that when you launch a new franchise like this, it has to have iconic elements. The strapping became so iconic that we ended up using it for the whole boot which may not have been the initial designs. It is a laceless football boot which is radically different to the Purecontrol because with the latter, the sock moulds to your foot for perfect control while the Torsion Tape here is entwined with the logic of radical movement, radical agility and ultimately as we roll out the franchise the messaging will be about unlocking agility and providing that perfect lockdown. All over it is completely disruptive and it’s never been done before.”

Where did the inspiration for a this boot come from?

“The agility of the people who do martial arts, ballet and boxing - they are all very nimble and that was definitely big for us. The plate as well, that’s a new development. We got a lot of insight from our ‘Futures’ department which is more ahead than any other category and what we’ve been able to achieve with this plate in comparison to the rest of football is that we can now offer a plate that works best with these quick lateral movements.”

“It was a literal translation from this abstract world of being nimble like a boxer and a ballerina and the same for martial arts. They have this taping approach which forms part of a ritual. The thing is there, “how do we translate that into football?”, taking it into a more football relevant context we had to bring in additional factors such as creating a secure foot, support and breathability as well as that secure lockdown. We asked ourselves whether these new materials and approach could achieve all these things and the answer is yes it can - probably better than any other shoe in the game. With the material it stretches in all directions, it’s light as well as supportive and all movement provides the player to be able to go with the flow whilst having a radical way of thinking and playing.”

“We took inspiration from outside the box and brought it back inside the box and this is ultimately the outcome. Looking at the players that come with it, we looked to see if there is an overlap between speed and agility - Gareth Bale being an example, Arjen Robben - strong, very linear, high speed sprinters who are powerful and explosive. Then looking at Nemeziz with Messi as the godfather, he has a low center of gravity and then other players such as Draxler and Firmino all share that Nemeziz style of play. They are nimble and light footed and they helped create this vision.”

How long has this project been in development?

“Usually in football we work roughly two years ahead of release so it’s been in the works for a while. When we brought the initial idea of using tape for a football shoe, we got looks that said “what are you doing?” but at the end after seeing prototypes the group involved started winning people over and they bought into it. It went through great development, a lot of trialling and ultimately, we’ve come up with a very interesting concept.”

How did your elite players contribute to the development phase?

“The usual development process at adidas is that we create prototypes and in the beginning we start testing with semi-professional players and then move to a higher level to just validate that the concept works. Ultimately it has to perform and for a professional player before we reach out to them with the shoe, we have to make sure it is in a strong position further than a proof of concept. Once we’re happy with it then we move on to involving our elite athletes and key players. Whether it’s Messi or more of the new young breed such as Draxler, Firmino or Renato Sanchez, you of course involve them and it will involve a lot of explanation about the idea. You have to explain the benefits. For a lot of players, they already tape their ankles and feet themselves so they understand the idea straight away. The association of taping, stability, agility, soft adaptive materials - it’s all quite intuitive. I think this also helps give this certaint “what the!?” concept, a level of credibility and keep it deeply entwined with the culture of the sport.”

What has the response been from start to finish?

“It always seems to have a wow effect. Players will have never seen something like this and then when they see it and put them on, the reaction has been “wow, I’ve never played in anything like this” and it so good to get that feedback when the journey from prototype to finished product has been such a long one.”

Getting into the tech, can you talk us through the construction of the boot?

“We found out very on in the process that the taping we have developed works perfectly. At the beginning, the brief was not to make a laceless boot but by using the tape, we were able to create the perfect laceless boot because the elastic tape offers a strong lockdown. Also, in conjunction with the outsole, we noticed how the tape moves along the foot. The 360 agility band is also something you can see goes around the whole of the foot so it’s a very intuitive shoe when you kick it for the first time. You can see how the bands go all around the shoe, we wanted to keep plate transparent so you can see just that.”

“Although the inspiration from tape was what boxers use, we couldn’t find the right qualities that would transfer into football so we created this tape ourselves. It has been engineered by adidas so it is completely our own material that we have designed ourselves as a brand. When you break the boot down into three key highlights to remember, it’s of course the 360, laceless agility bandage, it’s the single layer construction and is still a lightweight boot. Agility shoes need to be lightweight and also it’s just one layer so it’s like playing barefoot and it adapts to the need of your foot. We have also adapted the boot to include a new AgilityKnit 2.0 material on the forefoot which you might know from the Messi collection in 16 and 17 - here we have found a thinner and lighter material but it’s softer to provide that perfect touch on the ball. The third key USP is the outsole and the stud alignment which has been designed for perfect traction and rotation. It’s been optimised for the contemporary pitches that the game is played on.”

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in creating this boot? Did you have to go back to the drawing board so to speak?

“The starting point itself, designing and creating a shoes from point zero for adidas football - not so many people can say that so yeah, the task in hand is a challenging one by nature and finding that key element that could work to meet the brief is a tough starting point. We went back and forth at the beginning until we found the perfect idea and the designs evolved through testing and prototyping. It was as we were developing that we raised the question about making the whole shoe out of the taping. Now we see the end product, you see something that has been developed to its final state but over time there are frustrations as we have to navigate a lot of obstacles to ensure the boot performs for the highest standard. You’re never satisfied, we always need to reach our own bar then push it even further.”

How important is it that such a radical design maintains adidas DNA that anchors you to your heritage?

“It’s one of the most difficult points. It’s a company with a big history. In terms of sports, it’s one of the biggest and longest histories. Keeping that same level that the designers in the past have set out is integral. It’s of course a challenge but of course everything we do at adidas has to carry those standards and yeah, keeping that level high is not always easy.”

“There are a lot of things that you have in mind when you think about the classic adidas - the heritage of the brand is probably our biggest strength. It’s always been incredibly strong when it comes to delivering innovations. From the F50 adizero in 2010 and the lightest boot ever and then the ACE 16+ Purecontrol - the first knitted, laceless boot. We need to continue writing history. The brief in the beginning was to have an additional franchise but we wanted it to be the most progressive and the most polarising end of the product portfolio and we feel very comfortable with Copa, ACE and X in a more authentic direction. Copa is probably the most authentic, not just the Copa Mundial but also the 17 and then ACE is the control boot based on the heritage of Predator for example, then X is our speed and chaos boot and we needed something new and something fresh as we head towards a World Cup in 2018.

"We wanted to surprise and inspire consumers and showcase that adidas is still state of the art and the number one brand for football.”

What were the major trends you were seeing as you were developing all things Nemeziz? Is this you guys leading the way or is it a launch based on consumer needs / demands?

“It was our brief from the beginning not to just create a single football boot. We wanted to create a concept that is entwined with the stadium to street mentality. It is something that can work backwards too and we can see the street inspiring the football boot. Our design team was very quick to adapt to that. We started with an on pitch boot but it was another challenge as to how we take this concept and move it onto the street too. We’ve kept pretty much all the same elements though just added some minor modifications to transform these boots into street pieces too for the court or small sided game.”

How much does this draw a fresh line for a creative silo? F50 is a thing of the past, the Messi boot is being replaced - will this technology be the future?

“We don’t really look at this as though the Messi boot is replaced, it’s more that it’s been integrated or extended. His playing style is very much the inspiration for what a football shoe for agility should be. We wanted to extend our playing field with that progressive way of thinking and this is where we saw that opportunity to take the next step.”

On a personal level, when you see these boots land on pitch for the first time, the Champions League final perhaps - that's got to be an almighty achievement...?

“I don’t think we’ll know how to feel until we get there, it’s going to be a sign of the hard work paying off. A lot has gone into the development of this boot so for it to land in the final of the biggest club game on the world will look good after two years.”

Suit up in the adidas NEMEZIZ here.

Photography by Gabriel Daughtry for SoccerBible