Nike GS - The Hottest Boot Of 2012?
Six months ago, nobody (including us!) had heard of the Nike GS. Now as we approach the end of 2012, it's hard to argue against it being the hottest boot of the year. The Green Speed was so successful immediately after launch - the limited supply vanished in no less than 24 hours - Nike couldn't ignore the overwhelming demand and quickly followed it with the ACC enhanced GS2.
Marrying unique innovation with a simple aesthetic design, and the classic Nike Mercurial silhouette, both incarnations of the Nike GS make a statement. Sharing the same bold design and engineering, both are incredibly removed from what would be considered a 'standard' football boot.
Such hysteria around the GSI and GSII begs a closer look. Observers will notice the new technology and design is in contrast to anything pre-2012. A boot constructed with recycled materials and weighing just 160g is at the fore-front of boot design, and could be leading the way as we look ahead to 2013 and 2014.
The original GS1 was debuted by Neymar at the London 2012 Olympics. The focus of the entire boot industry and boot fans was on the Brazilians' feet for a period, but when the new season began the Green Speed became a distant memory. Too good and too popular an innovation to sit on, Nike had to relaunch the GS, this time with a fresh look and a fresh squad of players to tell the story.
Both designs have the same effect, as the simplicity instinctively draws you to the innovations. In it's purest form the boot does the talking, and the onlooker can't help but notice the synthetic upper or the sole plate, and now the the ACC technology, which all inspires you to find out more about the Nike footwear.
Before the Nike GS2 and even GS1 football boots were launched, SoccerBible caught up with David Eyers (Nike Football Senior Product Manager) to discuss the story behind the brand's lightest ever boot: "We had a developer, a designer and a team in Italy just looking at new types of materials and how we could join them together in ways that we've never done before. It was a case of thinking, what would be our ultimate boot and what would it look like, and this is where we ended up."
Innovation driven, it seems materials took precedence over looks for both the Nike GS1 and GS2 football boots. But the simplistic nature of the design has proven to be an inspired choice, for what could be the hottest boot of 2012.