BMW-inspired design a shoe-in

The footwear and automotive industries have delivered some interesting outcomes in the past. Anyone remember the Nissan Pulsar Reebok? No? Good.

A new alliance between BMW and Puma delivers a new type of shoe based on a technology pioneered by a shape-changing concept car from 2008, the BMW GINA Light Visionary concept.

That car made use of a special fabric technology, GINA, to give it a striking, shape-shifting quality.

And now Puma is getting in on the act with a little help from BMW's Designworks subsidiary.

Dubbed Puma DISC footwear, the new shoes incorporate what the company calls the X-CAT DISC, which essentially replaces laces. Just twist the disc and the shoe's thin, stretchable GINA material – the same as used in the concept car – tightens around the wearer’s foot.

"With the X-CAT project, we wanted to unleash the innovative power of BMW and Puma. We have transformed the essence of the shape-shifting GINA car into a streamlined and elegant shoe," declared Torsten Hochstetter, Puma's Global Creative Director.

Designworks and Puma decided to use just one layer of the "stretchable and super-light" GINA material, which removes the need for seams and allows natural, dynamic movements.

It's not clear if BMW is readying the GINA material for a new vehicle in future, but the German car maker's design chief, Adrian van Hooydonk, was clearly stoked with the new shoe tech.

"The approach was to look at every aspect of making a shoe and to try and reimagine it. Freeing yourself of what is here now can be an enjoyable and rewarding exercise. Typically, it also speeds up change," he said.

Expect a new car with Reebok Pump technology next, in which the car tyres pump themselves up by using the energy generated in the shock absorbers...