An item of footwear, comprising: a shell for enclosing a foot and at least a portion of a lower leg, the shell having a pair of opposing edges generally aligned along a top-of-foot portion of the shell and/or a front-lower-leg portion, the edges generally aligning with a longitudinal axis of a wearer's foot and/or lower leg, the opposing edges defining medial and lateral sides (51, 52) of the shell, and a tongue positioned between the opposing edges; and a tensioning system, constituting a foot retraction system, comprising: a lower tension path further comprising at least lower two anchor channels (161, 168) disposed along the lower tension path on a lateral side of the item and supporting a lower tensionable cable disposed along the lower tension path, and a lower tensioning mechanism, the lower tensioning mechanism configured to adjust tension in the lower tensionable cable; an upper tension path further comprising at least two upper anchor channels (173, 174) disposed along the upper tension path on lateral and medial sides of the item, respectively, and supporting an upper tensionable cable disposed along the upper tension path, and an upper tensioning mechanism, the upper tensioning mechanism configured to adjust tension in the upper tensionable cable; and characterized in that the tensioning system further comprises: a floating element positioned outwardly of the tongue relative to a user's leg, wherein the floating element couples an upper loop formed by the upper cable and a lower loop formed by the lower cable to each other, in that an upper segment of the lower loop passes through a lower channel defined by the floating element, and a lower segment of the upper loop passes through an upper channel of the floating element, wherein a floating element channel permits a sliding engagement between a cable, or a segment thereof, and an adjacent, overlying structural component.. a shell for enclosing a foot and at least a portion of a lower leg, the shell having a pair of opposing edges generally aligned along a top-of-foot portion of the shell and/or a front-lower-leg portion, the edges generally aligning with a longitudinal axis of a wearer's foot and/or lower leg, the opposing edges defining medial and lateral sides (51, 52) of the shell, and a tongue positioned between the opposing edges; and a tensioning system, constituting a foot retraction system, comprising: a lower tension path further comprising at least lower two anchor channels (161, 168) disposed along the lower tension path on a lateral side of the item and supporting a lower tensionable cable disposed along the lower tension path, and a lower tensioning mechanism, the lower tensioning mechanism configured to adjust tension in the lower tensionable cable; an upper tension path further comprising at least two upper anchor channels (173, 174) disposed along the upper tension path on lateral and medial sides of the item, respectively, and supporting an upper tensionable cable disposed along the upper tension path, and an upper tensioning mechanism, the upper tensioning mechanism configured to adjust tension in the upper tensionable cable; and a lower tension path further comprising at least lower two anchor channels (161, 168) disposed along the lower tension path on a lateral side of the item and supporting a lower tensionable cable disposed along the lower tension path, and a lower tensioning mechanism, the lower tensioning mechanism configured to adjust tension in the lower tensionable cable; an upper tension path further comprising at least two upper anchor channels (173, 174) disposed along the upper tension path on lateral and medial sides of the item, respectively, and supporting an upper tensionable cable disposed along the upper tension path, and an upper tensioning mechanism, the upper tensioning mechanism configured to adjust tension in the upper tensionable cable; and characterized in that the tensioning system further comprises: a floating element positioned outwardly of the tongue relative to a user's leg, wherein the floating element couples an upper loop formed by the upper cable and a lower loop formed by the lower cable to each other, in that an upper segment of the lower loop passes through a lower channel defined by the floating element, and a lower segment of the upper loop passes through an upper channel of the floating element, wherein a floating element channel permits a sliding engagement between a cable, or a segment thereof, and an adjacent, overlying structural component..