Skateshoes FW16/17 Trend Report

Globe

In an age of cheap, disposable Internet clips, who still invests in full-length skate videos? Answer: Skateboard footwear companies! After Vans raised the bar with Propeller, the highly anticipated Nike SB Chronicles Vol. 3 video will release in December, and Adidas Skateboarding is poised to premiere their first full-length entry, Away Days, in May 2016. And skateboard footwear companies are not only keeping the stoke alive in skateboard culture – they’re also keeping shop sales moving when cold weather season hits Europe. Trend report by Dirk Vogel.

It’s all about going with seasons, says Doug Weston at Osiris: “Fall and Winter means the days are getting shorter and colder and our line stories incorporate darker tones with subtle accents. We love to have the line truly reflect the season it was designed for. The lighter cottons of summer get replaced by heavier canvas with flannel linings.”

And while “winterization” of skate shoes emerges as the hottest trend of FW16/17, it’s also a double-edged sword. Nick Pappas, Footwear Product Manager at New Balance Numeric pointed out: “It’s a tricky thing though, winterizing a shoe. While half the world is cold and rainy, the other half is warm and sunny. So as soon as you winterize a shoe, you’re losing at least half your audience because they’re in the middle of summer.” With that said, how can retailers offer the right selection and put the “win” in Winter? This trend report has the answers.

PRICING AND STRATEGY

Vans

Walk down any high street seven weeks before Christmas, and drown in a sea of red marker prices and 50%, 60%, 70% rebate on absolutely everything. Customers expect instant rebates even on the most current product, but fortunately, skate customers also appreciate a well-made shoe. “Lower prices seem to be the trend. Outside of that I believe people will always look for a comfortable shoe that’s durable and made with quality – something C1RCA has maintained with our footwear over the last 17 years,” said footwear designer Ky Baker at C1RCA.

Retail price points currently crystalize around €55.00 for entry-level skate shoes, €85.00 for winterized models and exclusive material stories, and around €120.00 for technology-laden high-end performance footwear.  

For a bit of perspective on pricing strategies, go to Vans.com and browse the Men’s Footwear section. What you will see is the latest, season-specific styles next to the company’s proven classics. What you won’t see is a SALE section. And no crossed-out prices and special rebates in red, either. Just the regular assortment of shoes at the regular, suggested retail price. It’s a textbook example of how brands maintain the value perception of their products, and it’s working: In Q3 2015, Vans reported a “high-teen percentage rate increase” in direct-to-consumer sales – including online, where price-slashing is rampant.

HOT TREND: WINTERIZATION

Snow on European city streets equals massive loads of salt and gravel to keep traffic moving, and any skateboarder knows how stubbornly these tiny stones lodge into the performance-grip soles of skate shoes. The solution: Wearing rugged boots to the indoor park, thereby keeping skate shoes pristine for the session. Catering to this trend, footwear brands are helping skateboarders lace up in “winterized” styles of established models as well as durable boots.

Julian Vergnes, Element Global Footwear Product Manager sees, “increasing demand for adverse weather conditions footwear.” Element serves this trend with, “more winterized features, warm liners, gusset tongues, water resistant materials.”

Almost all brands featured in this report cater to this trend, including Vans: “Winterised is a huge category for Vans across footwear and apparel in the lifestyle sector and the technologies and materials come from what are developed in our snow boots. We can use all we have learned to incorporate this into a cross-functional product for the colder months in the European region,” said Darryl Charles, Merchandise Manager of Action Sports & Energy at Vans. At Globe, Matt Wong is stoked on the new YES Après boot with a rugged vibram sole and zip entry as part of Globe’s “ongoing collab with YES snowboards for those really wanting to get out in the snow.” And speaking of boots, get ready for the sleeper trend of the season: duck boots with all-rubber lower sections, as seen in Vans “Del Pato” models, are not just for hunters anymore.

Fallen

MATERIAL STORIES

For the second major trend of FW16/17, brands are reliving the glory days of court sneakers with chubby white rubber toe caps, immortalized by 1935’s Jack Purcell sneaker (later marketed by Converse). FW16/17 standouts include the Nike SB Cory Kennedy Zoom All Court, HUF’s Classic Lo Skate model, and a range of Vans models. “With rubber toecaps being featured across a lot of brands, the court look and feel is being seen a lot and showcased by all brands,” confirms Darryl Charles at Vans. True to the cold season, brands are drawing on outdoor-proven materials, summed up by Ky at C1RCA: “Oiled suedes, waxed canvas and twill, wool and Sherpa inner linings are used throughout the collection.”

At Fallen Footwear, mastermind Jamie Thomas points out: “The weather resistant ‘wool pack’ is sure to be a standout as well as our collection of waxed suedes shoes that are great for Fall holiday.” Servant Footwear is building on the success of their synthetic 4SKIN Microfiber suede: “Being man-made it gives us greater control in quality consistency with all the benefits of being cruelty free as an added bonus,” said Rasmus Åhrberg, Head of Design. For extra skate performance, Filament is using, “a lot of skate friendly suedes and canvas, with some welded panels,” co-founder and co-owner Tim Gavin adds.

COLOURS AND STYLING

Seasons may change, skate footwear colour preferences, not so much, according to Nick at New Balance Numeric: “Black will always rule skateboarding. Our goal is to give skaters appealing options to the traditional black and white skate shoe.” Nick’s choices include, “deep, rich burgundies, seasonal browns, and athletic-inspired greys with pops of sensible colours.” Julian at Element notes a trend towards “Tonal combos, sober colours,” Tim Gavin at Filament sees “earth tines with muted pops,” Jamie Thomas at Fallen banks on, “black, midnight navy and interesting browns,” while DVS Product Line Manager Mike Kubota sees FW16/17’s “colour story focused on the darker side with blacks, browns and greys.” Trending shoes feature “gum and coloured outsoles being relevant with a focus on Autumnal colour pallets,” Darryl Charles at Vans confirms.

Printed graphics continue to bring colour diversity to skate footwear, including skulls, camo, and tie-dye patterns in a number of collections. For their collab with Parisian street artist HUIT, the Osiris crew updated manufacturing capabilities: “We’ve been developing a proprietary material technology and printing process for our graphic print footwear,” said Brian Reid at Osiris. Reflective panels – like 3M – also shine bright in FW16/17 collections, including Nike SB’s Flash models.

Osiris

CUTS AND SILHOUETTES

From season to season, skateboard footwear is becoming more advanced in terms of contours and silhouettes. Ky Baker at C1RCA noticed: “The collection has evolved over the years with the market moving away from puffy shoes. Thinner silhouettes, lower profiles, better insoles, comfortable inner linings and midsoles are our main inspiration.” The two trending profiles for FW16/17 include: First, a pointed-toe, low-cut vulc shoe with technology baked into the insole and foot bed. Mike Kubota at DVS highlights, “the Ignition SC made for jumping down stairs, rails, etc. with an injected Vaporcell foot bed for maximum cushion and flexible outsole.” Second, a skate-performance cupsole with new technologies like the Globe Eagle model for David Gonzalez with a sculpted shogun cupsole and drop-in PU cushioning. At Etnies, “STI Evolution Foam brings high performing technology to both lightweight cupsole models and new fixtures into the vulcanized ones. By expanding standard foam particles till their max density Etnies manages to improve massively the high impact rebound and durability without compromising comfort,” said Antonio Melero.

Slimmer profiles are supported by technologies like Vans’ Rapidweld, “a breathable mesh and stitchless construction, allowing us to deliver a more functional and technical skate shoe for today’s skater,” said Darryl at Vans, pointing out the new AV Rapidweld Lite & Pro models. New Balance is going big on tech with the 868 model, but Nick reminds us: “I think we’ll see technology make even more of a comeback, but it will be subtle. Finding ways to give a classically styled shoe subtle but useful tech will be key.” The big trend towards “jogger” shoes in the mould of Nike SB’s Roshe Run sneaker continues and almost all brands offer their own versions, with some retailers calling “joggers the longboards of skate footwear” as hot sellers to mainstream customers. And speaking of customers, Tim Gavin at Filament is confident: “I think a lot of customers are now looking for core, skater-owned brands again.” Amen to that.