Swiss sportswear brand On has unveiled the Cloudboom Strike LS, a groundbreaking spray-on sneaker designed to enhance athletic performance. The $330 shoes, which are lace-free and lighter than the latest iPhone, have already proven their worth, helping Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri win this year’s Boston Marathon. Obiri, an Olympic silver medalist, will wear them again at the Paris 2024 Games.
The Zurich-based company attributes the success of its shoes to advanced biomechanics, physiology, and their extreme lightness. A men’s US size 8.5 shoe weighs just 170g, significantly lighter than many popular running shoes of the same size. “More than anything, we want (the athletes) to win,” said On’s senior director of innovation, Ilmarin Heitz, in a promotional video.
The Cloudboom Strike LS, designed to be more adaptable and dynamic, features a slip-on, sock-like design without a heel-cap, laces, or tongue. Its translucent upper, made from thermoplastic, is sprayed onto the shoe in one go and attached to a carbon-fiber and foam rubber sole using heat, not glue.
This innovative production method significantly reduces the carbon emissions associated with producing a shoe’s upper by 75%, according to On. The material, dubbed LightSpray, is seen as a step towards a more sustainable and circular future by On’s co-CEO, Marc Maurer.
The technology will be showcased at a pop-up event in Paris during the 2024 Olympic Games. While it remains uncertain which athletes beyond Obiri will wear the shoes at the Games, several Olympians have recently competed in the Cloudboom Strike LS, including Australian middle-distance runner Olli Hoare and Irish 1,500-meter runner Luke McCann.
On’s spray-on sneaker follows other innovations in spray-on textiles, such as the spray-on dress by luxury French fashion house Coperni at Paris Fashion Week in October 2022. The Cloudboom Strike LS, initially available to the public in April, will go on sale again later this year.
