hether you call it athleisure,
sportstyle or lifestyle, the
casual side of the footwear
business is on fire. And
despite frequent predictions
that the pendulum will swing
back to performance looks
(or even to dressier shoe
styles), sportstyle has con-
tinued to be the animating force in the footwear
marketplace. But the newest crop of versatile ath-
leisure looks is going well beyond straight heritage
models or stripped-back silhouettes. Brands and
marketwatchers say shoppers want hybrid sneaker
styles that leverage performance-grade technologies
in all aspects of the shoe's construction to make
ultra-comfortable, highly functional styles they can
wear all day and use for everything they're doing.
"For sneakers, weight and breathability is very
important, comfort from a foam outsole is huge and
then price and versatility are the next level," says
Matt Powell, an analyst at NPD Group.
And sharply drawn lines between "performance"
and "lifestyle" looks continue to blur both internally
in companies and in the product they create. This
month Under Armour released the Misty Copeland
Signature Collection, an apparel capsule co-designed
by ballet dancer and long-time Under Armour ath-
lete Misty Copeland.
And legendary Nike designer Tinker Hatfield's
latest creation is the $140 Jordan Standard, a Nike
Sock Dart-inspired slip-on with the ride of a Jordan
shoe, but with easy-on, easy-off wear being the key
design feature.
Even brands that approach athleisure style very
14 • Footwear Insight ~ May/June 2018 footwearinsight.com
Misty
Copeland
in
her
signature
collection
from
Under
Armour.
By Jennifer Ernst Beaudry
BEYOND RETRO
The Sportsyle
Shoes of
Today Are
Bringing Tech
to the Table.
ATHLEISURE
