Sneakers? Not.

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On a trip to Bilbao, Spain, two years ago, Lotti was struck by the wildly spiraling metallic towers of the Guggenheim Museum. "It looked so different from everything around it," he recalls. "I wanted to do the same thing with a shoe." Eighteen months later, Nike unveiled the Air Max Specter, a slip-on sneaker with an upper sole of grooved, sinuous curves, available in the same titanium gray as the museum's exterior. The shoe became the season's No. 1 seller.

It should be no surprise that the sportswear powerhouse has thrown its weight behind the women's market. (For one thing, there are millions to be saved in endorsements.) When Nike started its women's division in 2000, women generated about $1.5 billion in annual global sales, or 20% of the company's total. The goal is to boost that to one-third, via products such as the Visi Havoc, a $70 sling-back, and the Air Rift, a split-toe design that has been spotted on actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The company has launched a Nike Goddess website (motto: Look Good. Kick Ass) and will open its second Goddess store in Los Angeles in mid-March. Still, for all of Nike's technological and marketing prowess, the Portland, Ore., company may have picked a fight in the wrong ring. "When you open the door to the fashion sector, there are so many more players," says Michael Atmore, editor in chief of Footwear News. "Skechers has done an incredible job. Puma is very hot, and Adidas and Reebok are making every effort to fight for their share."

It's not about just sneakers anymore; it's about style, which is why the glossy fashion magazine W featured Christian Dior clothes with Vans sneakers in its February issue. It's also why high-end labels such as Gucci and DKNY intend to win over fans by peddling shoes that look perfect for the amateur athlete and are priced for the full-time debutante. Prada, for example, has a line of sneakers, made of canvas with tread soles and laces, that still sport the Prada logo. So who cares if they offer little boost on the basketball court?

This spring Nike will roll out Visi Mazy, a sling-back in woven fabric, available in "lime chill" and "midnight navy." It will compete against a line that Skechers is developing in denim and a sneaker from Puma created by the Japanese designer Yasuhiro Mihara. As Tony Bartone, Puma's director of brand management, promises, "These will not be found at Athlete's Foot." Which is exactly why the women's market could prove to be supremely profitable.