Shoes have reached cult status in our culture–a red soled Christian Louboutin indicates wealth, luxury and glamour, Avril Lavigne’s Supra Shoes opened the floodgates for skater girls everywhere, and Sex and the City has catapulted Manolo Blahnik’s iconic stilleto to become one of the most enviable items to own by fashion obsessed women. These fashion heels sell for upwards of a thousand dollars for vanity’s sake–but what happens when we take technology and incorporate it into the practicality and protection that shoes provide? This partnership leads to an absolutely amazing advancement in the wearability of shoes which then leads to an increased quality of life.

Take for instance, the Music-Toucher dancing shoes. It is seldom that we think of shoes as a vehicle for improving the quality of life, but the five designers of the Music-Toucher shoe, Heng Fengchi, Wang Xiaofei, Wang Lijue, Zhou Hongjie, and Gao Shan Shan, have done just that by giving deaf and hearing impaired women the opportunity to dance. According to Tuvie, the ballet slipper helps because “The sole of the shoe features a vibrating transfer module placed in a way that will never bother the wearer or make them uncomfortable. This module registers the rhythm of a particular music and transfers it as a rhythmical vibration direct to the sole.” The Music-Toucher shoes borrow the same method that Beethoven used, when he cut off the legs of his piano to feel the vibrations of his music. The Music-Toucher ballet slipper spearheads the advancement of giving deaf and hearing impaired women a chance to pursue a well-rounded life despite physical hindrances.

Another way that technology has helped bring music and shoes together is through the new Apple+Nike partnership. To enhance any run or workout simply, use the Apple music player of your choice, from your iPod to your iPhone in conjunction to your Apple compliant Nike + shoe. You must purchase a sensor that goes into your Nike+ shoe that will connect the shoe to iPod wirelessly through a receiver. If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, no need to worry about the receiver; the receiving capabilities have been built into the software.

Running long distances is no easy feat and Apple even gives you their own personal Sport Music in efforts to pump up your workout. When you feel fatigued and ready to give up, you can pre-set a “Power Song”–one of your favorite motivational tunes–to help you to the finish. Not only that, but when you’re finished, sync your iPod to your computer onto a Nike database to meet, compare, consult and maybe even trash-talk with Apple+Nike runners around the globe.

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