Sneakers

2018 has seen sneaker obsession reach new heights. As worldwide demand for sneakers continues to rise, both performance sportswear brands and luxury fashion houses have released new shapes and styles to attract a passionate and fast growing market. From practical trail and running shoes to statement high fashion designs, sneakers and sneaker culture have dominated our top selling products lists and driven the fashion agenda this year.

With more than 3 million shoppers searching for a pair of sneakers online every month, we decided to investigate what lies beneath some of the world’s most wanted styles. This year’s hottest sneakers feature space age construction, a mix of fashion and athletic elements, intricate logos, textured sole shapes and stand out silhouettes. From the $100 Nike Vapormax to the $1000 Louis Vuitton Archlight, what lies beneath the complex construction and fabrication of these much lusted-after shoes?

To find out we collaborated with British artist and photographer Hugh Turvey to x-ray some of this summer’s most hyped sneaker styles. Toeing the line between photography and radiology, Turvey’s images use x-ray technology to create what he calls xograms, a fusion of visible light and x-ray imagery.

Turvey’s work mixes science and art. To shoot the sneakers, he allowed x-ray light to pass through the various materials used to construct the shoe; the trick is in getting a balanced exposure that allows for lights and darks in one shot. With this series of images he used 17 x 14 inch film to give the results an extra special level of detail at a 1:1 scale, and instead of using visible light he uses x-ray exposure to create the ‘xograms’.

Gucci’s SEGA Flashtrek proved to be the most challenging sneaker to shoot, due to its high-density materials and gem detailing. But it was a challenge that reaped the most rewards in terms of the level of craftsmanship the x-rays revealed. “I wasn’t expecting to see the level of detail as seen in the Gucci sneakers… aside from the gems, you can see in the heel of the shoe small pins and a metal shank which are characteristic of traditional shoe construction and demonstrate another level of quality build that I just didn’t expect in a sneaker.” Turvey said.