Ever wonder what happens to automotive airbags after they give up their lives to save vehicle occupants in a collision? At least some of them are being recycled into shoes.
Reebok and clothing producer Kanghyuk’s “Collection 8” are turning spent airbags into shoes, launching the Reebok x Kanghyuk Zig Kinetica line with a limited run of 50 pairs available exclusively at the Dover Street Market in London, England.
The project is part of an “Advanced Concepts” of handmade products that was conceived by Sanglak Shon while in graduate school. The project debuted in 2019 with the Sole Fury clothing line of clothing also produced from used automotive airbags.
The upper part of the new shoes is made from material left over from Kanghyuk’s ready-to-wear airbag clothing collection.
“Similarly to existing versions of the Zig Kinetica, these shoes feature the silhouette’s signature three-part energy-return system,” according to the announcement. “The distinctive zigzag-shaped sole captures and returns the kinetic energy of every step.”
The shoes are available in black or white with unisex sizing. Each pair of the initial run is priced at £250 ($330).
