Signature Touch: A Look Into the Nike Zoom Stefan Janoski SB | Hypebeast

Interview with James Arizumi

James, how long did the design process take for the Zoom Stefan Janoski?

The design process took two seasons, which is obviously longer that we planned, but we wanted to do the shoe justice and make sure that we were meeting Stefan’s needs of what is required for him to skate, to the best of his ability. We went through about three different versions of his shoe until we landed on the silhouette that you see today. No, we are talking not just samples but fully ready for market, tooling opened, finished styles that we had to do complete do overs on because it was not quite right for Stefan. In the end it was a good call because we are happy how the shoe turned out and Stefan is stoked.

What sort of technical elements did you incorporated into the design?

The shoe is a combination of addressing the specific needs that Stefan required for a performance piece of footwear as well as the embodiment of who Stefan is and his personality and style shown through design. Believe it or not, both looks and performance are technical requirements for skaters to perform their best. On the product design side of things, the technical elements include a performance custom molded sockliner with a Zoom bag for maximum cushioning, which will be included on all the styles. We did some interesting things with the heights and proportions of the outsole so that you sit lower in the shoe for better stability. Because the style is so low for maximum foot and ankle movement, it was key to build the stability into the tooling and its relationship to the upper. On the quarter panel you notice that it dives into the outsole which when laced up, allows for superior lock down into the shoe. As the quarter panel dives down it also sweeps behind the heel to provide heel lock around the entire rear of the shoe as well. A lot of “technology” or just construction techniques went into the structure of the shoe as well. When you build a shoe as thin as Stefans you usually just take out material and the shoe becomes floppy and baggy, we took a lot of time to
craft the interior and build a shoe that was thin, but also supportive, lightweight, and durable to stand up to the rigors of skateboarding. You will also notice in the heel liner construction we took a little time and added a suede inner heel for great heel lockdown. It’s one of the details of the shoe that I am most proud of.

Wow, quite a labor intensive process. Will we see more vulcanized offerings from Nike SB in the future?

As a brand we are not ruling out the option of any more vulcanized styles but we have always tried to build a robust offering of styles for every type of skater. In this case for Stefan and his needs for skating, it just so happened that a vulcanized outsole worked. We are working on implementing Cold Wrap technologies into our line which will take the harsh and environmentally damaging processes of vulcanization out of the equation.

The shoes came out great. With such a successful new design now in place, will Nike SB look to rely less on its iconic offerings in favor of new models, such as Janoski’s

We will always have our heritage styles, because that is where we come from as a brand, but we will expand of off that heritage and most definitely offer new styles that flip the script and offer something new that people would never expect from Nike, like Stefan’s shoe. Who in short, none of this would have happened without his vision and support.

Lastly I would like to give a big ups to the footwear crew, Shawn Baravetto and Brian Linkfield our unsung hero/developer. Thanks!

- Nike SB Website