Adidas Ace 16+ PureControl - Designer Q&A

Soccer.com had the chance to sit down with two of the masterminds behind Adidas' latest innovation, the laceless Adidas Ace 2016 boots. Exploring the concept behind the product, as well as the design process, we get a new angle on one of the biggest leaps in football boot design from the German brand.

Sam Handy (left), Vice President of Design at adidas Football, and Dean Lokes (right), Vice President of Product at adidas Football, only recently joined the football division of Adidas, having worked on the Originals and NEO sections previously, respectively.

Why is there a need for a laceless cleat?

Sam Handy: People are looking for new experiences and when you put this boot on it’s a truly remarkable experience. It stretches at the collar and locks down to really hold your foot in place. Immediately, you feel like you’re going to have a different interaction with the ball. It looks disruptive and different. It looks like no other football boot that’s ever existed and I find it really beautiful to look at. New looks, new experiences and new feelings are something that people are looking for at the moment, they want to be surprised.

Describe how the laceless cleat feels on the foot, compared to current laced soccer cleats?

Dean Lokes: Obviously you’ve got different players with various different foot shapes, so when creating the slip-on product that was one of the main challenges we had. How do we create one shoe that can fit all of these different foot shapes?

Because lacing allows for that customized tightening, the design team spent many labor intensive hours over the last 24 months adjusting parts of the shoe to provide that locked down feel and fit, while also allowing it to be easy to put on and take off.

What have players said about the cleat during the testing stages?

Dean Lokes: All the way through the last 24 months we’ve done extensive testing with all levels and player types, from young kids all the way through to our top athletes. In the early stages of the testing process you get feedback that some players didn’t like it and other players said that it was amazing as soon as they put it on. We’re realists and we know that this type of boot is not going to be for everyone, however, it is for those players who dare to try something that is unique and revolutionary.

Head over to Soccer.com for the full interview, and check out more pictures and details of the Adidas Ace 2016 boots in our post.

What's your opinion on this 'all-new' design from Adidas? Are you going to give them a try? Let us know in the comments below.