Guangzhou,China — New X-Swift shoes, which crossover between formal situations and the gym, are made with four BASF polyurethane materials.
Elastollan thermoplastic polyurethane forms the outer sole. This features an aggressive profile which optimises traction and provides maximum surface contact.
The X-Swift has a midsole which features high-rebound Elastopan polyurethane. This gives better cushioning and durability than conventional midsole materials, the German company said.
In addition, Elastopan coupled with a high-performance sock liner forms the inner sole.
Finally, the X-Swift has an upper which features an innovative, two-piece design. This uses Haptex synthetic leather and Freeflex TPU fibre.
'The footwear market is dynamic and fast-paced. In this co-creation, we meshed the qualities of our state-of-the-art footwear materials, and prototyping with new manufacturing technologies,' said Manfred Pawlowski. Pawlowski is the vice president of consumer industry at BASF performance materials.
The German company collaborated with two other, Asian firms to make the shoes: Longterm Concept, and Gu Guoyi.
Longterm Concept is a Taiwanese shoe manufacturer. BASF said that it used automated and intelligent footwear production processes to fuse the four different materials together cost effectively.
Guoyi, who founded banana.design, designed the shoes. Guoyi also designs footwear for established brand names such as Reebok and Nike.
