Sportswear brand Nike has launched the Nike Swoosh 1 trainer, a colourful Flyknit shoe for young children that is made from 80 per cent recycled materials and designed to feel like "cruising around barefoot".

The shoe, which is being released globally, was constructed to "help support our earliest walkers", Nike said.

"Promoting natural gait development is crucial for early walkers," the brand added.

"Research shows that our lifelong gait pattern begins to solidify as early as five to six months after we learn to walk. Our feet need to bend, flex, grip and splay in order to develop how they're naturally intended to.”

Nike Swoosh 1 features the brand's seamless Flyknit upper, which aims to support small feet, with an outsole made from thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) that was constructed to be grippy and provide traction and durability when walking.

It was made from 80 per cent recycled materials, according to the brand, and has a colourful design with a deep blue outsole and an upper covered in dappled blue, yellow and red hues.

Bright red was also used as an accent colour, while the brand's signature swoosh logo was rendered in an oversized childlike style in a blue hue that matches the sole.

The shoe, which also comes in a black-and-white version, is closed using practical Velcro tabs.

The seamless knitted upper means the Nike Swoosh 1 is very flexible, which the brand says makes it suitable for young children.

"The shoe can bend in all directions, helping to provide kids the mobility they need to mimic the feeling of cruising around barefoot," Nike said.

"Fun fact: Babies have more nerve endings concentrated in their feet than in any other part of their body.”

The Nike Swoosh 1 is the first-ever Nike Kids shoe to receive the American Podiatric Medical Association's Seal of Acceptance, which is granted to products that encourage good foot health.

The trainer, which was designed for children aged nine to 36 months, also has a wide toe box to let toes naturally splay and flex.

Other unusual Nike designs include the glueless ISPA Link trainers, which can be easily disassembled, and the hands-free GO FlyEase sneakers, which were designed for the user to just step into.

Source: Dezeen