• by Josh May , May 20, 2008

Sarah Jessica Parker - or at least the shoe lust of the Carrie Bradshaw character she plays in Sex and the City - might just save the earth. Stress might. Future footwear may do more than give the illusion of a lengthened leg and sultry sexiness. They could power the world - or your own small, roving part of it.

Designer Emili Padrós has taken a look at an everyday action with the notion of how its energy potential can be harnessed and repurposed. His Non-Stop Shoes - certainly, at this point, not as swanky as anything SJP might don - store the energy generated from walking and allow the wearer to use this stored energy to power a low-watt electric device. Spend the day traipsing from gallery to lounge to boutique, spend the evening reading by the soft glow of a lamp your walking has powered.

The potential for harnessing movement and using it to power the ever more mobile media world we live in seems like a natural progression. Nike already makes running shoes that talk to your iPod. You may as well let your sneakers charge your iPod while they're chatting. If media wants to be free, so does the power it takes to use it.