Apparel brands across the spectrum have embraced the power of comfort over constraints and conventions, giving rise to a new segment of athleisure wear in recent years. Nothing rings more true than for the footwear industry- when women everywhere began trading in their stilettos for sneakers, brands came running with sneakers that crossed between style and functionality. Luxury houses like Chanel and Hermès jumped onto the trend, too, sending models down runways in sneakers paired with couture.
While the trend has been booming for several years, not everyone is rushed to get a piece of the action. A key player that brought athleisure to the forefront of the fashion world, Lululemon turned yoga pants into a stylish fashion statement that, over time, became acceptable as daily wear beyond the studio. Despite growing its offerings from workout gear to streetwear over the past 20-plus years, the Canadian brand has yet to move into footwear. That is, until now.
The women-exclusive collection features three sneakers and a pair of sandals, all of which were under development for well over four years. Product designer Sun Choe wanted to make a shoe that truly reflected the brand's ethos and its most iconic product. "How do we recreate the unparalleled feeling of our pants, in footwear? From there, we had engineers, scientists, and researchers figuring out that design challenge," she says.
Women's sneakers are usually created as adaptations of designs that draw from existing men's shoes. Lululemon, however, went a different direction. Armed with scans of more than a million women's feet, these shoes reflect the anatomy of women's soles.
The Blissfeel sneaker, the first top drop, along with Chargefeel and Strongfeel cater to running, workouts and training, respectively. The shoes are said to provide support for athletic pursuits with a bottom layer that cushions impact and give support.
Available in ten different shades, Choe says this launch keeps in line with the brand's women-first design approach. "We intentionally started with women first because we saw an opportunity to solve for the fact that, more often than not, performance shoes are designed for men and then adapted for women,” says Choe.
But fret not, male fans of Lululemon; the brand is set to release a men's range in 2023.
