Salomon's Techy Trail Shoe Has Gone Grandma
Have you ever seen a techy trail shoe dressed in the same print as your grandma's cushions? No, me neither. Well, that is until I saw the latest batch of Salomon XT-4s to hit shop shelves.
The XT-4 Needlepoint, a lightweight trail shoe built with cutting-edge features like a full-length agile chassis skeleton or dual-density EVA cushioning, has abandoned some of its hi-tech looks and embraced the elderly.
To quote directly from Salomon, the shoe features an embroidered tableau of alpine flora. Which, in layman's terms, translates to a kitsch floral pattern — the type made popular in the ‘80s and now mostly found in the living rooms of elderly relatives.
The fact this print reminds me of outdated interior design trends is no coincidence, Salomon was inspired by the rustic decorations found in mountain chalets. It's a nod to the brand's mountain heritage, y'know?
The combination of this decisively old-school print with a more new-school sneaker is a pretty novel concept. And yet, strangely, it's a trick that's been played twice this month. On October 4, Jack Harlow dropped his New Balance 1906 collaboration with a similar floral print.
I'm of course not suggesting that Salomon ripped Harlow's idea, these types of design decisions will have been made well in advance of Harlow teasing his NB collaboration, it's more a matter of great minds thinking alike.
We'll have to wait and see if the trend spreads but who knows? Gran, your interior design might be back in fashion.
