I bought some Nike Mayfly running shoes.
They are ultra-lightweight, and quite lovely.
They are so light because they were designed with a definite lifespan.
They are only built to last for 100km.
On a good day, I usually run 10km.
These shoes are shoes I can use maybe ten times.
This defined sense of the object’s limited-life reinforces it’s narrative.
The thing is a clock.
It’s beginning, middle and end will be marked.
And indeed, the object itself asks you to record the beginning…
…and to do right by it’s end.
This is planned obsolescence with conviction – and as a result it involves you with the object, it’s materiality and your use of it to a greater degree than most mass-produced goods.
I haven’t run in them yet.
I’m waiting for just the right moment to start the clock on their life, and take my first steps in them – towards their end.
