More Than Gorpcore: Checking in With Salomon Sportstyle

"Gorpcore", a term coined in 2017 which means "Good Ol' Raisins and Peanuts", refers to wearing technical outdoor clothing outside of their intended place of use: wearing trail running shoes to walk around Paris or rocking a waterproof shell jacket to stay dry in the streets of London. We caught up with Alex Van Oostrum from Salomon’s Sportstyle footwear team, who explains how the brand chooses its footwear design collab partners, why he has a love/hate relationship with the term “Gorpcore,” and talks about the team behind the shoes popping up on fashion runways around the world.

If I’ve always known Salomon for sports and the outdoors, tell me how and why Salomon has become so sought after when it comes to what we call “Sportstyle” footwear?

It all started with the Snowcross shoe in 2015. Paris retailer The Broken Arm had a specific customer who walked in wearing that shoe and asking about it. From there, The Broken Arm came to Salomon saying there was potential for our footwear in the Sportstyle space, which led to the first Broken Arm collaboration. It was the first time Salomon became aware that it could have relevance for lifestyle. Then came a request from designer Boris Bidjan, who wanted to complement his ready-to-wear brand. He created 11 by Boris Bidjan, applying his craft, using a dying technique but also looking at material usage. It was all done by hand in Barcelona. That was in 2016, and the first model was out in spring 2017. It was called the Bamba 1 and was based on the Salomon Speedcross.

It was around that time that Salomon identified that there were functional benefits for broader usage of our footwear outside of the intended purpose of trail running. The shoe chassis had a stability story, the Sensifit technology had a control story, and Quicklace was unique. The shoes are fast and light, but also sleek and comfortable, which makes them a good canvas for designers.

As the demand has risen for Salomon in the lifestyle space, has this changed the brand’s approach to creating footwear for this audience?

I would say, for the most part, no. The Salomon view is still that functional benefit can be translated into lifestyle. It’s similar to what you see with other brands—Air with Nike, Gel from Asics and Encap at New Balance to an extent. Those running offerings became a lifestyle offering because they offer something unique. Running is a product category within lifestyle. In the same way that trail (and Outdoor) is now a category within lifestyle. The functional benefits are there—stability, comfort, speed, grip. This whole trend of Gorpcore is born out of consumers identifying with technical function and is commonly associated with Outdoor brands. At Salomon, we are athletic outdoor, which is a distinct proposition in the market.

Gorpcore has become somewhat of a cliché in the lifestyle space, a trend. But there is, in fact, longevity in what Salomon brings because we offer products that are unique. We have created a category in its own right. Salomon has not seen success in lifestyle purely because of this trend, but because it has been adopted, and universally authenticated by the wearer because of this functional need. Then we have a pool of designers, developers, material experts—teams who can adapt products to the wants of people interested in fashion. We can take an XT-6 and not change the function, but modify the upper for a look, like we’ve done with new iterations like the Expanse shoe with regular laces and then the (upcoming) leather version. But it’s still the same XT-6 chassis, which delivers comfort, but adapted for a contemporary lifestyle purpose.

So, beyond this technical and functional benefit, what do you think has been the appeal of Salomon footwear to the lifestyle consumer and even the “sneakerheads?”

The look of Salomon footwear is distinct. It’s sleek and the patterns lend themselves really well to color. In Sportstyle we sit with pattern, development, design, product line management, commercial and marketing so we have a blend of people attuned to the end consumer’s needs. We also trend forecast and have technically talented people who can apply that insight to a very rich archive of Salomon footwear, so this is more than a fleeting fancy.

And how does that manifest itself inside each sport category of Salomon’s Sportstyle range?

We have franchise management based around sports practices. We introduced running silhouettes, then an outdoor franchise. Even within the outdoor category, we break it down into different user needs—Alps is more technical products; Athletic includes models such as XA PRO; and then Progressive includes the Odyssey silhouettes where we play with creative direction. Then, of course, we have before/after products, where we look at things like Salomon’s Reelax line for inspiration. There are also categories like water shoes and sandals that we are exploring. We have spring/summer and fall/winter ranges, but realistically it’s a four-season offering. When you take all of that, you can see we’re responding to the wants of a broad consumer base—from the discerning fashion forward crowd to sneakerheads, and even introducing models with the same mass appeal of the Nike Air Max, such as the Salomon ACS+. So, yes, Salomon has certainly become more than “Gorpcore” for a techwear crowd.

You mentioned the word “Gorpcore.” It seems to have a positive and negative label attached to it, depending on who you talk to. Some people like it; others say it’s a cliché. Does the word “Gorpcore” annoy you?

Yes and no. No because in the same way that many sports are the foundation for what is ‘lifestyle’—such as basketball with the Jordan brand or court shoes with the Stan Smith model for example—the same will evolve with outdoor, which is now for sure a category for the lifestyle consumer in its own right. Sure, that was born out of “Gorpcore” so that established the marketplace to a certain extent. Therefore, I don’t hate the term, but I think for a lot of people it’s become a throwaway term that is maybe too all-encompassing. For people who love technical outdoor products, it feels lazy because Gorpcore is so rich in product history. Salomon creates great looking products to be used in an outdoor environment, but that can also be used to complement daily life. So the Gorpcore term is a bit of a shame because products created by outdoor sporting brands will always reach the right people—people who feel a certain way and who want to identify with being outside in nature. They will adopt it because it says what they do and who they are.

It sounds like you have a very clear idea of who your Sportstyle consumer is and that is a different profile than perhaps the people buying some of the other lifestyle sneakers on the market. Is this accurate?

Someone wearing Stan Smith is not necessarily the same person as a Salomon person. A Salomon person buys our shoes because of the design, the color and the subcultural appeal rather than the ‘convenience.’ But we want them to try it once and be converted because they experience the comfort and functionality. I was in a meeting where someone said, “I hate seeing people hiking in the XT-6 shoe.” And I thought: No, it’s perfect. They wear it in Paris and then go hiking. It’s an early experience for them being outside and the shoe has functionality. It’s the entry point to the brand and maybe even the outdoors. In 2-5 years, when they are super into the sport, and start really hiking and being outside, they are already a convert to Salomon. I would rather see someone hiking in an XT-6 than a Stan Smith! The second point is that Salomon is popular in a lot of places where it’s cold and there is inclement weather. We have CSWP, GORE-TEX® and water repellency, so we offer a dry, warm, alternative to wearing a sneaker from another brand.

On a community level, when you get a few guys wearing it and talking about it, you get more buy-in. There is a snowball effect in terms of adoption. Generally, when people buy Salomon, there is unanimous positive feedback. One point of difference for Salomon is that when you look at sneakerheads and sneaker culture, there is this idea of hording and buying tons of shoes. But the go-to shoe that those sneakerheads will actually wear is the Salomon. That’s because of the functionality, the comfort and the design. The other reason I don’t necessarily like the “Gorpcore” term is because its particularly masculine in how it was coined. People associate Gorp with a menswear consumer, but if you look at XT-6, we will sell out quicker in women’s shoes than men’s. Gorpcore is associated with this male driven culture. Salomon is encouraging everyone to get outdoor regardless of gender, or age or race.

Salomon is currently at a point where the brand is being approached by potential collaborators all the time. It’s a great place to be, but how do you decide who to do collabs with?

We have an amazing portfolio of collaborators and the starting point is an exploration of the Salomon design language. The designer for Maison Margiela MM6, for example, is a trail runner and loved our Cross range, so he was attuned to the brand and its functional benefit.

To discover Salomon products that will make you feel at ease both in the mountains and in the city, you can check out a product selection that is sure to turn eyes!