If the Mars Yard—Nike and Tom Sachs’ introduction to the NikeCraft concept—was designed for space-going scientists, its kin, the NikeCraft General Purpose Shoe (GPS), finds its footing in the everyday. Both, of course, build on the base idea of sneakers as daily tools and are created with the same unwavering attention to detail.
It’s not what you do, it’s how you do it.
“I got involved with Nike in the beginning because we wanted to make a sculpture that everyone could wear. It’s a tool for everyday life; it’s democratic,” says Sachs.
The GPS’ shape is distinct, thanks to a slightly perky upturned toe, but not too distinct. Its build — with a three-piece molded cup sole, signature donning straps, microfiber collar, and ultra-breathable knit — packs a value punch. “It took a decade to make a shoe this simple, as simple as can be and no simpler. NikeCraft shuns innovation for its own sake, but embraces it as a necessity,” adds Sachs.
The GPS’ engineering and materials are chosen to provide comfort, support and a high degree of tactile sensation in a well-priced product.
Consideration for durability in utility and style is shown in the upper material (open enough to breath, tight enough to ward off a few raindrops), the quality of the donning straps, and, again, that three-piece molded cup sole. “It took me years to best advantage the superpowers of scale and to deliver value while still reflecting the standards of my studio. A great collaboration is something that no partner could do without the other, and NikeCraft has always been a 50/50 collaboration,” says Sachs.
The GPS, reminds us that beauty comes in creating a connection with the things one owns: stain it, tear it, repair it. “The GPS is a tool to be the best you,” says Sachs. “They have an understated quality. They’re meant to do all the things that you do and tell your story.”
Like the other great perennials of the sneaker world, the NikeCraft GPS will render in multiple color schemes. The launch version, the Studio, features a gum rubber midsole, muted white upper, and blue donning straps. It’s the new uniform colorway for the Tom Sachs Studio team, and it could be your uniform too.
It comes in Women’s sizes 5-14.5, 15.5, and 16.5 and Men’s sizes 3.5-13, 14, and 15.
The NikeCraft GPS will be available on June 10 at nikecraft.com. It retails for $109.99.
