The future finally arrived – at least for the much talked about Nike sneakers Marty McFly in the cult movie ‘Back to the Future Part II‘ had on his feet.

Since that movie has been released countless innovators and hackers attempted to bring these shoes back from the future.

According to a viral video showing lines after lines of illuminated, Nike Swoosh carrying MAG sneakers in what seems like a testing room at a factory, Nike themselves worked on the future of footwear, bringing the MAG sneakers back from the future and into footwear stores nearby.

Nike, presumably working on a top secret, wearable technology shoe project for some time would redefine the future of footwear if the MAG shoe hits the pavements of cities around the globe.

There is much speculation at this point about the authenticity of the video and no other information pointing towards the availability of a MAG shoe but hey – todays technology world is partly defined by speculation and rumors.

If Nike, a top brand in the sneaker business, indeed launches the MAG Fly sneaker it would be the greatest shoe wear (r)evolution in recent history. Launching the MAG  shoe for the consumer market would place Nike on the top of footwear innovation and give a big boost towards a wearable technology enriched fashion future.

[via: Adafruit.com]

The fascination of wearable illumination just got another twist by illumination fashion designer Moritz Waldemeyer who created a pair of illuminated sneakers for ‘Step Up 3D’, for the world’s first dance movie in 3D.

Over the past years we have seen shoes and sneakers upgraded with illumination ranging from kids shoes with blinking light in the sole to more stylish looking party sneakers using LED or EL elements.

Moritz has like in his other illumination clothing designs, raised the bar of how light elements in shoes can spice up otherwise dull and static looking shoes.

LED panels are placed around the sneakers. Integrated motion sensors create waves of light across the shoes depending on the movements of the dancers.

‘Step Up 3D’ will be released on August 3rd where the LED Sneakers will be at the spot light of action.

I don’t think this type of shoes will make it any time soon to retail, they might be too fragile to be beaten up on our city streets but for partying – LED sneakers would serve as a cool outfit.

Color changing, glowing garments radiate a mystical, magical aura. No wonder that much effort is spend on bringing wearable light and color changing magic to our outfit.

The newest addition to this segment comes from two of the top sneaker brands which will release simultaneously glow-in-the-dark sneakers along their Spring 2009 collection.

Nike Sportswear and Kanye West, who knows how to use illuminated clothing to get out-of-this-world visual effects, teamed up to create the highly anticipated Nike Air Yeezy sneaker, first seen on Kanye during the 2008 Grammy awards. The release date is set for April 4.

Besides the cool design of the Air Yeezy, it will start glowing after sunset thanks to a ‘glow-in-the-dark’ treatment of the swoosh and sole material.

Glow-in-the-dark paint and coatings contain phosphor, a substance that radiates visible light after being energized – in this case by daylight. There are two main types of phosphor that have these properties: Zinc Sulfide and Strontium Aluminate.

Strontium Aluminate has a much longer persistence than Zinc Sulfide. Chemists created many variants of glow-in-the-dark material with different properties on intensity, color spectrum and more. Available as powder mixed into plastic or paint for coating and impregnation.

Back to the sneakers: The second brand is New Balance with the glow-in-the-dark sneaker model MT576S BAMBOO RAKE which will be available at Mita.

This particular sneaker is the product of a collaboration between New Balance, Mita and creative collective FRAT. The highlight of the shoe is the glow-in-the-dark. They look subtle at first glance, appearing in an off white colorway but start radiating magical light when night falls.

New Balance scheduled the official release for April 4 as well. We couldn’t find any hint on retail price yet but we will give an update as soon as these information for both glowing sneakers become available.

I don’t think either company has visibility for safety while wearing the glow sneaker in mind when creating them but I do believe that these glowing sneakers will be a killer for partying and clubbing.

We got covered sneakers with light up sole a couple of times but most of them are in the development stage or concept phase.

Somehow it slipped our attention that such Illuminated sneakers are out in the wild since last year, made by Jezign a innovative footwear company located in the Washington D.C. area.

Started by Jez Marston a young entrepreneur and founder of Jezign, the first launch was the ‘Night Eagle‘ Basketball sneaker. A cool design that rocks. Based on the first success in selling the Night Eagle, Jezign launched their second model called the ‘Bubble Cloud‘ line in Summer 2007.

The Bubble Cloud features a sole that completely illuminates at the push of a button. The magical light source, which is based on Jezign’s patented technology, is powered from a replaceable battery stored in the shoes tongue.

Jezign used top grade glove leather as basis material for their sneakers to give them maximum flexibility and wearing comfort. A nice touch for a innovative sneaker.

The obvious reason for having light in the shoe sole is safety but I think in the case of the Jezign design with it’s cool look and translucent effect which also highlights the Jezign brand name on the sole it’s definitely for the cool guys out on the street and dance floor.

The Bubble Cloud goes for a very reasonable $ 149.99 available in the color schemes White and White/Royal by finishline.com

Sorry girls, no model available yet for you but this might change soon. We will watch out and report back when Jezign is extending their line of Illuminated Sneakers.