
Sneaker blogs are abuzz with word of Reebok's new ZigMaze kicks, which feature an unusual upper featuring a maze-like etching. Reebok is either trying to go stealth with these or someone in their PR department is about to get fired, because although they're reportedly popping up at Reebok Concept Stores, there was zero mention of the shoes on their website at press time.

The Sole Movement blog got the scoop on the ZigMaze (if you can't tell by their name plastered on the photos), but even they don't know what performance advantage, if any, the mazelike texture is supposed to confer. Sneaker News theorizes that the texture provides structure while still being breathable and lightweight, which sounds possible; but there's no attribution, so the bottom line is until Reebok PR gets into gear, your guess is as good as ours.

Comments
Won't they gather major dirt?
@Pellegrino
I'd imagine the same argument against white shoes but people have no problem buying them
Nike does the FlyKnit and Reebok does this. Easy to see who's pushing the boundaries.
I think a lot of sneaker "technology" is mostly baloney, and certainly here, the design is playing off images like these http://bit.ly/N069Gk which are all the rage, rather than having any supposed technical advantages. That said, I have been intensely tempted to pick up a pair of ZigTechs, and these are pretty sweet too, but when I held a pair of ZigTechs at the mall they felt sort of flimsy.