A recent creativity-online.com article gives high praise to Nike Flywire technology as a top design for 2008.
Flywire from Nike: By combining tensile structures into the uppers of their shoes, Nike managed to reduce the material thickness, creating a lighter weight range of shoe, while maintaining the structural integrity. Old concept, new use. Very cool.
http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=133319§ionName=feature