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Tinker Hatfield: Forever Legendary

Words by Nick DePaula

In the field of footwear design, Tinker Hatfield’s name is as legendary as Picasso’s name is to the art world, or Einstein’s to the field of mathematics. His legend was born through his ability to stand out from the crowd, infusing personal details into footwear full of technicality and purpose. While most designers are schooled in industrial design, Tinker went about his destiny via a different path.He was an athlete first, and a damn good one at that. Named the state of Oregon’s top individual athlete for accomplishments in track and field, football, and basketball, Hatfield went on to attend the University of Oregon on a track and field scholarship, where he graduated with a degree in architecture. It’s this schooling coupled with his knowledge of athletics that he credits as the advantage he’s had over the competition through all of his years of heralded work. He actually started at Nike as a corporate architect before being assigned to work on athletic shoes. If you’re looking for proof of his talents, Hatfield designed, among countless others, the Huarache series, the Air Max 1, as well as the Tech Challenge series, and is of course most notably the lead designer of Air Jordans III through XV, the XX, and more currently, the XX3. If it’s quantitative evidence you’re demanding, in 1998, Fortune magazine named him one of the top 100 most influential designers of the century.

Since then, he’s gone on to lead one of the most forward-thinking teams in his field as Nike’s VP of Innovation Design and Special Projects. Some of those special projects include helping to design the Oregon Track Club’s new crisply identifiable logo and the upcoming scoreboard at Oregon’s Hayward Field, where Hatfield participated in track and field, competing in pole vault. He’s also currently pegged to design the interior of Oregon’s new 12,500-seat basketball stadium. You could say he has a love and appreciation for the school. Despite his several external projects and endeavors, the aim he gravitates towards currently is Nike’s Considered initiative. Always thinking of performance and function, now Hatfield hopes to inject some design flair and creative energy into footwear and apparel by not injecting harsh toxins, cements and chemicals normal to the often-harmful production process that is manufacturing shoes.

Even his home, just 90 minutes from Beaverton, has been designed with this ethos in mind. Made with environmentally friendly floors, beams and walls, the house was made from fast-growing pine wood fiber, non-gas-emitting resin and recycled wood from the original home’s structure, and it also includes Energy Star-rated kitchen appliances as well as. A true designer never stops imagining. Just when you thought Michael Jordan had racked up quite a number of awards, Hatfield’s green-friendly home has been widely recognized for its environmental approach and execution, adding to his storied career as a designer even beyond footwear.

With this goal of sustainability at the epicenter of his priorities, Tinker never wavered in his insistence to make the Air Jordan XX3 a fully Considered project. Though he encountered a number of production challenges and struggles, he coolly professes justice was done to his original aim, as a Considered Jordan has been born. Now, designers, brands and companies industrywide are challenged to follow his lead by thinking of the future and considering all that’s included in the production process.

We had the good fortune to sit down with Hatfield as he recounted everything that went into the Air Jordan XX3, from design inspirations to early goals. Read on to find out more about Tinker’s design past as he shares his history with the brand, starting with his first Jordan design, the III, right on up to his most favorite and cherished shoe, the Air Jordan XI. Tinker was not afraid to talk about everything from the successes, to the innovation inspirations to the internal corporate battles.

Background

For those that don’t know, you graduated from the University of Oregon in architecture. How important has that background been for you in shoe design? How much of a parallel is there between footwear and architectural design?

I thought it was, and I still do to this day, thought it was a big advantage that I graduated in architecture rather than in industrial design. I don’t know why, but it just seems that I was better prepared to design shoes than most of the people I was competing against at the time. It was a great education, very difficult, and so are other design programs. It seemed like architecture was a pretty well-rounded, bigger educational process.

How did your background as an athlete help to create more functional footwear?

That’s a good question. I’m asked to speak about that quite a bit, and I speak sometimes at architectural schools and they ask that same question. My standard answer is an accurate one, is that, that was another advantage for me … that I had the design background – problem-solving background by the way and not just styling, because architecture is not so much about style, but more about problem solving, because buildings have to work. I don’t think that’s always true with other product types. I then had the insight of an athlete, so when I would sit down and talk to someone, whether it was a basketball player, tennis player or track athlete, I really just had a good understanding of what their scene was all about and that made it possible for me to understand and just do a better job.

Who were your design influences growing up? Did you find a common theme of inspiration or were you constantly searching?

I didn’t think about design until I was in college. I didn’t think about it one bit. I was a jock. I was a busy high school kid. I went to a small high school, so I played three sports and I was in the band. I played trumpet and I was on the student council. That’s the way it is in small schools. It was probably also a good thing because you multi-task when you’re in a small school like that and we know that when we come here and work in the real world, what you do is not so narrowly defined in little boxes. Maybe growing up in a small school and doing all that stuff, including sports, was probably yet another lucky circumstance for me.

Air Jordan XX3

Where and when did this design begin? Can you talk about where the process began and some of the influences?

The design process started prior to our trip to Europe with Michael. The original process was more technical and was to think about how we were going to build the world’s best basketball shoe in a Considered way. And so, we, meaning several people from the Innovation Kitchen and the developer of Brand Jordan, Jeff Spanks, had several meetings to talk about how this shoe was going to be built. We didn’t know what it was going to look like, we didn’t know colors, we didn’t know style and we had no preconceived idea of the look of it. We definitely knew that we wanted this to go together in an environmental way. It had to score on Nike’s Considered scoring process. So, knowing that, Mark Smith and I took a trip to Europe with the Jordan crew. I suspect that one of the reasons why I accepted the trip, besides the promotional aspect, was because it was a great way to travel with MJ and travel through Europe and get inspired by something. I didn’t know what exactly, but to get inspired there. In the end what we decided, though I guess I’m the primary architect or author of this particular design, not the only one, but maybe you could say the primary one, is that this shoe should be about nothing, kind of like the Seinfeld show, which is also another way of saying that it’s about everything. If you look at the way that show is written, it’s about all of the little things in life that happen, and about the richness of friendships and relationships and things of that nature. That’s what the Seinfeld show was all about. It wasn’t about anything, but it was about everything. In the end, we decided that we weren’t going to be influenced by a car, or a motorcycle, or anything. There was not going to be any big back story to that. By traveling to Europe and just looking at beautiful craftsmanship and design in general, and following Michael around while he was shopping and looking at the things that he was attracted to, we started to develop a sense of how to design the whole package. In the end I think we were influenced by beautiful products that we saw in Paris, in Berlin and especially in Milan – just highly crafted and beautifully shaped products, whether they were leather bags, like bags and boots and very extensive shoes, to some fantastic other items like cigars. We were just looking at it all and realized that Michael lives in this world of beautiful, high-quality items. So that really drove us to design this shoe so that it worked really well for a great basketball shoe. It had the Considered aspect to it, and this sort of finely crafted, finely shaped sort of minimalist feel to the shoe.

How important was it to introduce Considered into such a flagship model and also being that it was the XX3?

Before we even put pen to paper or got the computer rocking and rolling, the decision was made, and I made it, that our Considered program could be most helped by applying Considered construction techniques to our highest profile shoe. The strategy was set; this is a flagship for Jordan Brand, but it’s also a flagship for all of Nike’s efforts to reduce our footprint on the environment.

Can you talk about some of the smaller details, whether it’s the heel closure or the stitch pattern?

We had to make a decision about how this shoe was going to be made and how it was going to go together. There were two options; one was to actually web-stitch the entire upper together with big, thick nylon webbing, and sort of pull all of the shoe together with this big webbing. Mike Aveni, Innovation Footwear Designer, had been working on some products like that and in the end, we had a second choice, which was to develop some sort of chassis that would stitch to an upper, but the chassis itself would also partially wrap over the foot. That seemed to be a more elegant approach before we even knew what the design was going to look like. We chose the TPU chassis as a way to contain the foot, be the intermediary piece between the outsole and the upper, and so this TPU chassis is extremely important as far as the structural integrity of a high-performance basketball shoe. We’ve done lots of Considered shoes and they tend to be mostly stitched together and not so much glue[d], and that certainly is the case here, but those shoes don’t have to go through the rigors of the NBA player’s stress and the high-performance aspect of solving problems for these best players in the world. So, we had to come up with this really cool way to hold everything together, make sure it doesn’t fall apart, and make sure it has great lateral stability and also have this sort of iconic look. So the TPU became that vehicle. People have asked why this is all sort of faceted and has this diamond-cut edge to it, but these are basically artificial wrinkle lines that we put into the sole so that when the sole compresses, it doesn’t wrinkle in a random fashion, it wrinkles exactly where we’ve put these creases. We also think this shoe is gem-like or jewel-like anyway because it’s the XX3 and it’s sort of the end all, be all sort of product. So we designed this to look like it was a crystal coming out of the earth or a cut stone like you’d find in a ring - something very precious. Fortunately, we also found a way to paint the backside of it and polish the mold so that the TPU is completely clear, and that sort of heightened the notion that this was a gem-like design.

The second thing that I think is really important is that the whole shoe is stitched together with very little adhesives. There’s a thin layer of foam behind the main panel along with the interior package, and it’s all built on and applied to the shoe and stitched together with a special arm on a sewing machine. Then, the computerized stitching pattern is really decorative, but it’s also what holds all of these patterns together. That’s different and no other basketball shoe has done that before, either with the chassis or with this computerized stitching program. The reason this has a little tab in the back [points to heel] is because there’s a seam in the back, and you have to decide what that seam is going to look like. We chose to flare out the two ends of these two main panels, stitch it down, and then cut it so it looks like fringe. The reason this is there is we thought it was a good structural conclusion to the back of this shoe, because shoes can take a lot of abuse in the heel and we tend to cover up seams along the heel of shoes with another piece. We didn’t want to add an exterior counter pocket – sometimes it’s called a foxing – and we wanted to keep the shoe cleaner, more simple, and so we added this turned-out seam and stitched it through the side, and it actually protects that seam, so if you drag the shoe on its heel, it’s actually hitting on the fringe, and not on the seam. It’s a very nice solution to last longer, and in the end, it’s kind of a signature detail. It’s not there for no reason; it’s there for structural reason. I decided we should split [it] so it’s also more flexible, and wasn’t such a rigid piece. When you drag your heel on the ground, or let’s say you’re driving your car and your heel is on the floor of your car, this thing will protect all this beautiful stitching.

There’re some other things here. The interior package is just extremely well thought through in terms of foams, linings and lack of uncomfortable seams. [It] is all very carefully put together. Ultimately, the whole thing is heated and formed into shape. Then it’s put into a chiller, into a refrigerator, which sets the foam inside of this into a shape once more. Then one more time before it goes into the box, it’s heated and chilled again so that the shape is preserved before going into shipping. So when you pull it out of the box, it has this much more sculpted shape to it, like a refined dress shoe. No basketball shoe has ever had a shape like this, where it’s curved in, trimmed down, and shaped down just right. It takes a lot of the bulk out of a basketball shoe. I suspect that there’s some sneakerheads out there that will think this looks weird to them because it’s not so big and bulky like other basketball shoes, and I like that. I like that some people have already said it’s hard to love when it doesn’t look like other basketball shoes, and that’s part of what we do at Brand Jordan—not being afraid to change it up and do something people aren’t used to, and hopefully in the end, people recognize the genius of it. I think that’ll happen.

When you conceptualized your award-winning beach home, you created four principles of design: Observe, Preserve, Conserve, Have Some Nerve. How does this ideology translate into sneaker design?

That’s probably universal in the way I approach product design. You try to be thoughtful, and in this case, preserve materials and reduce waste and things like that. It’s similar to the way I design architecture. And the thing at the end about not being afraid to be different – that’s the part where “Have some nerve” comes in. I think with Jordan Brand and Michael’s stamp of approval, and even his involvement in the design, I think it makes it a little bit easier to accept something different. So we have some help in terms of pushing something new because Michael is a great validater. I’d have to have some nerve, but I also have confidence that that process will help us put products into the market that can be different and perhaps fresher.

When was it decided upon, as the sole technology, to move away from IPS cushioning and implement full-length Zoom Air?

It’s actually still in there, but maybe more in a disguised manner. We actually still do have Independent Podular Suspension in this shoe, but there was enough going on that we didn’t think we needed to talk about it visually. You can actually still see the little pods. We also took this shoe and reduced the thickness of the forefoot to try and get the basketball player closer to the floor. We think that feeling the floor and having more nimbleness is something that’s lacking in some bigger, heavier and thicker basketball shoes. Yet we were able to maintain the same cushioning feel in this shoe even though it’s overall a bit thinner. The IPS allowed us to do that as we still have a little bit of thickness where the pods are, which proximates the normal thickness of a basketball shoe, but the rest of the midsole and outsole is low profile and the pods sort of push in when you step on them. So you’re actually about a millimeter closer to the floor than you are in a normal basketball shoe.

Steve Mullholand: So you’re in a Ferrari then?

Yeah, if ever there was a shoe that was Ferrari-esque, this is probably it. It’s high-tech, it’s high-performance, it is minimalist in its approach and yet it’s also highly crafted. I was just in a Ferrari in Dubai with Roger Federer and he was driving around and I took pictures of us. It’s a $300,000 car and it looks on the outside like super high-tech, but then on the inside, it’s also finely crafted and the stitching and the details of the carbon fiber – there’s things about it that make it very precious in addition to being just this mean machine. I think, again, that this XX3 has a little bit of that character.

How important was having the thumbprint detail along the outsole and inside of the tongue along with the signature detail along the toe cap?

The thumbprint on both the tongue and the outsole is a gesture towards Michael’s involvement and the process of the design and his approval of the final result. Putting his stamp of approval is critical to the success of all of the Jordans, including this one. We decided to get his thumbprint when Mark Smith and I had a meeting with Michael. We brought out an inkpad and asked to get his thumbprint, and then we modified it. We had to thicken it up for the outsole because the swirls are a little bit thicker than his real thumbprint. The more accurate one - that’s still on the tongue - is actually still not exactly his thumbprint because we don’t think his real thumbprint should be public knowledge.

Steve Mullholand: You’re going into his place and you put the XX3 tongue right up on the sensor and get right in!

[laughs] It is pretty close to his real thumbprint, and I thought it was a unique way to include his real DNA or his personality and thought process in the final analysis and final result of this shoe. [It’s] very personal, as they all have been.

Do you have a favorite colorway or design cue yourself?

I love this colorway [picks up White/Titanium/University Blue pair]. This is my favorite colorway without a doubt, but it’s also a colorway that has a cache that should be preserved and that is to just not make very many of them in that color. So we all decided … that this should be a limited edition colorway. To be honest, maybe it’s not as universal in terms of matching up with apparel, so it’s probably good that we didn’t make too many of them. We have other colors that are probably more expected.

We did add his signature onto the shoe. His real signature is printed around the tip of the shoe. The message here is that Michael inspires us, he works with us during the design process, and then he ultimately put his stamp of approval on the finished product and it’s a very honest and real process. He gives his time and effort and his creativity to this and we’re proud of that and so we thought it was cool to acknowledge that on the shoe. Other details on the shoe are still worth noting, like the carbon fiber, but we’ve seen that before and I think we’ve done that in a more elegant way here. This argyle sort of perf pattern on the tongue is there because argyle represents this classy, old school pattern that you’ve seen on socks and that we’ve seen on other apparel items like sweaters and suits. It’s a classic argyle pattern that is a gesture towards the classy, highly crafted design world that we’re playing in with a product like this. They’re functional perfs, but then they also play to that classy design.

Mark Smith did the graphic design, which employs the “M” and the “J” in a very artistic way. Each colorway has a different version that Mark crafted up. As a group we decided that the stitching is what was going to hold the shoe together, so the idea may not be exclusive to Mark. It was a team decision that we need some kind of mechanical way to hold this all together. So this computerized stitching is certainly part of the process, and then we just handed it over to Mark and said, “Make it beautiful.” He just did an outstanding job of doing just that. I think that even when you have a white-based shoe with a colored midsole, I think that even the stitching continues to make even a white-based shoe look very unique and very rich in detail.

Yesterday, during the quarterly announcements from Mark Parker and Charlie Denson regarding Nike’s quarterly earnings, they chose the Jordan XX3 to tell the story of our leadership in the marketplace and where we’re going with Considered along with just high-performance sports design. There must be some people who are really recognizing this as a special product. There were thousands of products to choose from and this was one of two that they decided to talk about.

After discussing the XX3 with Tinker at length, we continued on and covered Air Jordans III-XI, as he recalled design inspirations, stories and also his interactions with Michael during the process. While some models came about easier than others, continue on to get a primary-source insight to the internal struggles fought, the ways in which design cues were decided upon and MJ’s personal involvement.

For the rest of the article check out Sole Collecotor Issue 22 “The Jordan XX3 Issue”

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