Erik Hernandez
Harden BTE upper pattern, lateral and medial, with a blue cage overlay and red construction notes for leather panels, toe cap, and eyelets.
Harden BTE rendering, lateral side, in orange and black with pink stripes and a translucent orange stabilizer.
Harden BTE rendering, medial side, with a black leather midfoot shroud over the patterned upper and a pink midfoot window.
Outsole tooling drawing with medial, bottom, lateral, and top views and a radial traction pattern.
Black-and-white photo of Harden BTE parts on a table, with an upper sample, outsole samples, and printed renderings of both options.
Harden BTE in black with an orange cheetah-print upper, orange stripes and a translucent orange outsole, lateral view in a parking garage.
A pair of the black and orange Harden BTE from the toe, three-quarter view.
Harden BTE pair with one shoe turned over to show the translucent orange outsole and its traction pattern.
Heels of the black and orange Harden BTE pair, showing the orange stripes and the black heel counter.
Close-up of the Harden logo on the black leather tongue under black laces.
Close-up of the leather toe cap and cheetah-print mesh at the forefoot.
Close-up of the black heel counter debossed with Bounce above the orange outsole.
Close-up of the forefoot and the sculpted translucent orange outsole edge.

Brief

Build a second Harden model for FW17 that carried the family resemblance of the Vol. 1 into a team shoe for the playoff run.

Process

Version B from the Vol. 1 sketches was the starting point. The first design review put two options side by side. After talking them through with Harden, both went forward, and one became the team model.

The upper paired a technical mesh composite with an unstitched leather midfoot shroud, and an asymmetrical overlapped bootie gave the sock-like fit Harden preferred. A Bounce midsole replaced Boost, giving a lighter, lower-profile midsole for more responsiveness.