Inside Nike’s seven-year design process for the Nike Jam, its first-ever breaking shoe

It’s something of an open secret about Nike design. All of its modern performance shoes—whether for jogging, soccer, or basketball—are really variations on a running shoe. Because just about every sport involves running, shoes across categories return energy with every stride, saving you effort and helping you play longer. The approach makes quantifiable sense for most sports. But not for breaking. At the Paris Olympic Games, breaking (the preferred term for breakdancing) will debut for...