Nike Officially Debuts Self-Lacing ‘Back to the Future’ Sneakers

Just the other day we put together a list of all the Back to the Future II predictions and whether those predictions were accurate or not. Of the Nike Air Mag self-lacing sneakers, we said, “the world is still waiting for the first true pair of power-laced sneakers.” Well, wait no longer. Nike and Michael J. Fox officially revealed the first pair of power-lacing Air Mags today on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to commemorate October 21, 2015, the day Marty McFly traveled to in the future.

UPDATE: Nike has released a video preview of their new BTTF-inspired self-lacing sneakers:

In addition, the company revealed some more info about the sneakers and their technology, which features an “individually responsive system that senses the wearer’s motion to provide adaptive on-demand comfort and support.” Nike says they are using this technology across multiple sports-related products and platforms to create “future game-changing footwear with unprecedented performance features.”

Nike sent the only currently existing pair to Michael J. Fox in preparation for his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! tonight, when they will be revealed to the public. Nike is producing more pairs, which will be available in 2016 to benefit the Michael J. Fox foundation.

Here is the letter Nike sent to Fox with his pair:

Hey Michael,
Almost thirty years ago, we embarked on a journey to create a glimpse into “the future.” Although the project started as science fiction, we’re now proud to turn that fiction into fact. As the first, most celebrated wearing of the Nike Air Mag, we wanted you to be the first to receive a living pair. “I meant Nike Mag” (I must have “air” on the brain)!

What is so special about the Nike Air Mag is its impact continues to resonate. We may never know its final legacy, but we continue to work on projects that carry and progress some of its principles.

As you well know, innovation never stops at Nike so we’re excited about what lies ahead for this idea. We know if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.

In addition to your personal pair, we’re creating more pairs for support in aid of the Michael J. Fox foundation in 2016. We hope that the combined effort will raise even more than the $9.4 million contributed in 2011 and to eliminating in some way Parkinson’s Disease in our lifetime!

Nike had previously released a special edition version of the Back to the Future Air Mags back in 2011 with an electroluminescent outsole and a rechargeable internal battery good for 3,000 hours, but the self-lacing technology was not there yet. The 1,500 pairs of Air Mags in 2011 were auctioned off, eventually raising over $4.7 million for the Michael J. Fox Foundation (Google co-founder Sergey Brin matched the proceeds bringing the total over $9 million). Not bad for a pair of sneakers.

Nike would continue to work on the technology with designer Tinker Hatfield, who created the original sneakers for Back to the Future II back in 1989, emphatically saying last year, “Are we gonna see power laces in 2015? To that, I say YES!” And, he wasn’t lying. There were precious few updates in the time since, but Nike opted for the surprise approach only teasing the self-lacing Air Mags yesterday on Twitter.

As you can see above, the new power lacing versions, look similar to the 2011 design with the one major change being the laces tie themselves.

We’ll update with more info on the Nike Air Mags as it becomes available.