Up Close With the Materials that Make Up Your Sneakers

Sneaker companies are always boasting about materials used when a new shoe debuts. Press releases are jammed with descriptors about technological advancements in knits and leathers to convince you that something truly special is going on with the construction of your footwear. But it's not too often that we can really get up close with these shoes and see for ourselves—often one's vantage point is through a computer screen or just far away enough to take an on-feet photo for Instagram.

To remedy that, we rounded up a handful of shoes and took a macro look at the materials they consist of. Yes, this is a random assortment. The models here aren't all new, they're not all performance-based, and they're not all incredibly sought-after on the resell market. But they all have unique materials that serve up some serious eye candy for anyone not afraid to drool over jpegs. Scroll down to get a look at the materials that make up your sneakers.