The Daily - Day 2 - June 19, 2019 - 32

Ideas
B I G

T R E N D S

Clockwise from top: Adidas Outdoor's
Terrex Free Hiker, Hoka One One's Stinson Mid Gore-Tex, Oboz's Arete, Scarpa's
Maverick Mid GTX, Garmont's G-Trek,
Forsake's Meridian, and Ecco's Exohike.

Footwear Pulls
Double Duty
With multipurpose functionality, outdoor
shoes transition indoors with comfort and
style. By Berne Broudy
IT'S NOT OFTEN THAT PRODUCT

managers and designers across the
industry agree on what consumers want. This year they do. The
archetypal shoe for 2020 is light,
fast, peak-to-pint versatile, and
sustainably manufactured with
low- or no-impact materials.
SNEAKER INSPIRATION
"Customers want to do more with
less," says Jack Knoll, director
of marketing for Forsake. The
company is taking a page from
the sneaker playbook, minimizing
extraneous features and replacing
overlapping leathers in its legacy
low-tops with lightweight, breathable textiles. Look for Forsake's
new Meridian, which has a slip-on
bootie with a four-way stretch
mesh upper.
Another shoe taking cues from
trail running is the Oboz Arete.
It has the chops for long and fast
days, and its seamless mesh upper
has superior breathability in both
low and mid heights.
VERSATILE AND
SUSTAINABLE
Massimo Alpian of Hoka One One,
says versatility is driving sales:
Hoka One One teamed up with
Gore-Tex on the Nubuck upper
Stinson Mid, which is rugged
enough for the trail yet chic enough
for a brewery stop in a trendy city.

Bogs' biggest multipurpose
win this year is its waterproof,
slip-on women's Kicker Loafer.
"It's a shoe that can do it all, look
stylish, and take you from your
daily commute to the office and
beyond-rain or shine," says
Bogs' director of product, Megan
Vinton. Thomas Dixon, national
sales and product manager for
Ecco Outdoor agrees, "Consumers
want more versatile products, a
trend being driven by the boom
in tech fashion." But they also
care about a product's planetary
impact. Ecco's Exohike models use
zero-water-waste Dri-Tan leather.
The BIOM C-Trail pairs a springy
midsole with premium yak leather,
a sporty textile, and a wrap feature
over the bridge of the foot to keep
foot and shoe connected.
Sustainability continues to be a
driver across categories, according to Adidas Outdoor managing director, Greg Thomsen. "As
availability and supplies become
more abundant, more products
will be made using recycled materials, like ocean plastic, that can
be easily collected and processed,"
he says. Adidas Outdoor updated
its Terrex Free Hiker with a Parley
recycled ocean plastic upper.
VivoBarefoot's goal: make shoes
that have zero bio-mechanical
interference and zero environmental impact. They've committed to

/ SUMMER MARKET 2019

using 90% sustainable materials
by 2020, and 100% by 2021. VivoBarefoot's Primus Lite Bio plantbased shoe, the company's most
sustainable yet, uses 50% percent
corn, natural rubber, and algae,
and 33% fewer materials overall
than most performance shoes.
And Sanuk uses natural materials
like sustainable hemp, cotton, and
Yulex-a natural rubber made with
solar energy-in its Chiba Journey
adventure shoe.
FINDING A NICHE
"The quest continues for lightweight footwear," says Mark
Mathews, Scarpa North America
VP of sales. Scarpa's light and

nimble Maverick Mid GTX has
pronounced sole rocker for efficient
walking, while the company's agile
crossover Rush uses a new sole
that increases traction and absorbs
more impact.
"Brands are refocusing on their
core category strengths," says Bill
Dodge, CEO of Garmont USA.
"Although we consider ourselves a
mountain brand, the general consumer knows us more for hiking.
In this hyper-competitive category,
the focus is look and price as well
as fit and quality." Garmont's
G-Trek has a new last contoured
wider to match the shape of the
foot and to provide exceptional
performance for many years.

The Daily - Day 2 - June 19, 2019

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