Athleisure is here to stay — and some the top outdoor lifestyle brands have responded accordingly in their spring-summer 2017 lines.
The footwear labels presented their forthcoming collections at the annual Agenda conference in Long Beach, Calif., on Wednesday and Thursday at the Long Beach Convention Center.
Among the trends, brands are responding to consumer demand for all-day, multi-occasion footwear with new ranges that elevate their respective core styles — along with new ones — teamed with fashionable textiles and customized technology that supports a range of sport-to-social activities.
The new outlook for spring-summer 2017 blends style and substance.
Such versatility has manifested in forthcoming collections that offer breathable soles, hidden sport-performance molds and removable footbeds (for ease of cleaning — and a swap of color) for on-the-go lifestyles.
Watch on FN
Sleek fashion statements are starting from the bottom to the top in Q1.
More brands are offering translucent outsoles that playfully step away from core looks by reinventing legacy designs through changes along the midsole and foxing line.
For many of the outdoor-performance brands, next year will welcome the democratization of colors for men and women.
Male consumers will have muted pinks — along the hues of coral, salmon and cotton candy. Women will see traditionally male-dominant colorways available, too, including muted and earth tones.
Across the board, duller gem-like colors in reds, blues and greens, as well as artsy, striking patterns will be abound. Top-to-bottom all-white and all-black designs that have been successful in the past will resurge in retail production, too. Gradients and subtle touches of gloss and sheen along the upper and laces are also forthcoming.
Reinventing the core classic, anniversary celebrations and collaborations with sports figures and artists are other exciting new looks that will roll out.
The textiles that are favored for SS ’17 are airy knits, nylon blends and weaves. Many brands are introducing more bendable, flexible, like-walking-on-air construction for mixed used, performance-and-style versatility; and elements of street fashion that reflect the labels’ audiences across skate, surf and tennis culture.
Below, FN looks at the highlights from some of the brands featured in the two-day presentation.
Supra
The brand’s Skytop franchise will introduce its latest iteration in the “V” line by Chad Muska — an athletic mid-top meets high fashion shoe. The nod to the label’s original high-top debuts in February, featuring a three-piece TPU cage paired with multipieced elastic bands. The internal neopreme bootie adds a padded foundation for support. The four colorways include all-black, all-white, dull green, and “Miami,” a teal and pink upper with pink laces, a white sole and pink outsole. The label will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a rollout beginning in August with Muska’s “X” range that he hand painted in his studio before the designs were replicated for manufacturing.
Adidas
The sportswear brand’s skating line will feature styles designed by industry athletes and influencers. Among the new ranges, The Gonz Pack — a collection inspired by skateboard pro Mark Gonzalez that includes a pair of pink kicks. Tyshawn Jones, Adidas’ youngest pro rider, will have a capsule collection featuring his signature screw and fist logo. Pro skater Dennis Busenitz and skateboarding photographer Ari Marcopoulous will also produce collaborations with the brand.
Native
Canadian lifestyle brand Native is going soft. The unisex label will introduce a Liteknit line across its new range, including two sleek profiles with EVA outsoles paired with new superfoam perforated insoles. A striking silhouette in the line includes slides with perforated tops and playful lacing. Weightlessness is the brand’s emphasis for 2017.
Emerica
The skateboarding brands will debut a slick new multifunction style that’s perfect for work and play. The polished look for the brand includes the LV Reserve line’s low-tops in all-white and all-black, full-grain leather and double coiled outsoles. LV Reserve’s engineered heel counter is designed to prevent heel slippage and support fit. The kicks add an elevated touch of fashion with goldtone open loop holes above laces.
Etnies
Dubbed a “weapon of mass durability,” the skateboarding brand has included advanced performance technology hidden molds and toe caps throughout its new lines with two new vamps. The “Comfortable as F–k” vamps have the brand’s most enhanced cushioning, as well as support functions in impact and abrasion; featured in the Scout (YB and XT), Jameson SC and Barrage SC silhouettes. The “Tough as F–k” range offers more impact, high stress support, as well as cushioning and abrasion; available in Helix, Marana (XT) and Jameson XT lines. The Jameson Bloodline collection blends function performance and style; available in gem tones like red, blue-grey, sand and gray. Helix is a high-performance shoe with a breathable mesh overlay; available in bright red, and specialized rubber in high-wear areas; available in red, black and gray/black.
Vans
Along with a range of new colorful woven textile and weave styles, the brand’s new Pro Skate line will feature for the first time an exposed Duracap on the Chukka Low Pro and Slip-On Pro styles. The Duracap technology is incorporated on the outside of a common high-wear area on the performance sneaker that helps to minimize wear and tear endured while skateboarding.
Fairplay x Brooks
The Battle of Los Angeles is the theme in the Regent shoe’s abstract design – a collaboration between Fairplay and Brooks, along with a corresponding apparel capsule collection. The bottom sole is translucent while the midsole features speckles, and textiles include leather, suede and 3M coating for a sleek running shoe.
Dr. Martens
Dr. Martens maintains its distinctive style, but with modernized, fashion-forward upgrades. After its popular “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” boot collaboration, the label will pay tribute to another 1990s animated cult favorite — MTV’s “Beavis and Butt-head.” Also forthcoming, the brand will have mono execution top-to-bottom black, and top-to-bottom white boots, and black and white gradient styles. The English footwear company will continue to build upon recent successes like with new versions of the Peresphone that went wildly popular after Beyoncé and her “Formation” squad performed in the shoes during the Super Bowl. The latest iteration will include zippers and cutouts. Dr. Marten’s DNA remains in its classic 1460 silhouette, but will feature cutouts and pointed-toe silhouette next year. Continuing Renaissance art pieces from every season, the brand will produce a shoe inspired by Raphael’s Saint George and the Fighting Dragon. The Dr. Martens Originals collection will include black and cherry colors, and patterns; other new styles will feature more cutouts for men, a new stingray-like texture boot and more.
Globe
Globe shifts to comfort and lightweight lifestyle footwear with its Lyt Collection, featuring Nitrocel and Nitrolite outsole technology, available in green, dark blue and taupe. The line maintains the brand’s core look but with new touches such as fabric weaves and distinctive soles, including a Hikari Infinity blue translucent Eva sole. For high performance function, Globe’s new CT-IV LYT range updates the classic Chet Thomas skate shoe. The Maholo Lyt shoe features a snug inner sock and open cell footbed designed for breathability and a look that balances fashion and function. New designs for the brand includes an update to its Signature collection for high-impact skating, adding an extra thick mold for footbed protection and stylish colors in sand and dark blue. Bringing style to the skateboard, the label’s Willow range features a longer vamp, smaller tongue and snug fit, available in a black chambray and navy chambray, as well as black and white twill.
Timberland
As consumer demand for year-round boots grows, Timberland has found a solution in softer, lightweight textiles and construction and a wider range of color options. The brand also aims to appeal to women, too. Timberland’s new Sensorflex technology adds a bendable sole, lighter-than-air touch to its former heavy, high-performance styles. Some new colors for men and women include pink, blues, all-white and all-black. The Newport Bay line features canvas textiles and 50 percent recycled PET. Timberland will also release slip-on, canvas moccasin and boat oxford styles for consumer who want to do more than just take a hike. The women’s line features the Bailey Park slingback sandals in black, olive and beige, and asymmetric y-strap styles. The Brenton range includes wedge sandals with three-inch heels in burgundy, olive, black, beige and matching footbeds. The Glancy line has Timberland’s familiar silhouette but with a feminine touch, including a six-inch chunky heel and lace-up style; another style from the range includes 2.8-inch peep-toe sandal heels.
DVS
DVS’s new SoCo line stands for “So Comfortable” — featuring clean, light and poppy colors for men and women. The brand will introduce across all its footwear new colorful, removable footbeds, with plans to ship in February. Other designs will include the skate brand’s look reimagined in runners silhouettes for an athleisure look, but not intended for the skateboard. Along the brand’s skate-performance lines, DVS will include new caps for durability and more fashionable styles with nylon-blend fabrics and breathable, water-resistant soles that feature with cutouts.
Antler & Woods
Skater shoe style gets lighter and brighter under a new men’s capsule collection from Antler & Woods. The Brooklyn, N.Y.-based brand plays up cotton-candy pinks, bright blue and steel gray produced in luxe-looking hickory Italian suede and calf leather lining. The palette continues in the label’s companion apparel line.
K-Swiss
K-Swiss will release a modernization of tennis court style next year with clean branding and monotone styles in its Classic ’66 and Classic 88 Sport ranges. The label’s new Classico Sport line features a chunky cupsole, thin stitching along the sole, premium handcrafted leathers from Portugal, iconic D-rings, flat wax laces and branding on the tongue; available in all-black, all-white and earth tone colors. The women’s line will include a new floral design featuring a large platform silhouette that was previously only available outside the U.S.
