New Running brand and footwear design - SKORA

That’s a steal for sure!

R

Stumbled across this during lunch in this month’s Popular Mechanics:

“But they’re so good-looking, you’ll want to use them for more than just your workout”

Thanks for the heads up matt! Looks nice! Will have to pick up a copy.

R

Saw this in the ISPO BrandNew catalogue. Missed the booth at ISPO though (if there was one?)

Visited the booth in the brand new area, or stumbled over it. Nice stuff though!

Wow, been a while since I updated this. My apologies.

Yes, they were in the BrandNew section at ISPO. They were a finalist for the BrandNew Award for the SS13 Collection. Sneak peak-

As well, a week prior at the OR show, the FW13 PHASE-X received Best in Show from Gear Junkie. It has 360-degree reflectivity with reflective mesh, laminate overlays, even shoe laces!

BTW, The FW12 Collection is now on end of season sale. 30% off select styles! http://www.skorarunning.com

New SS13 Collection coming early March. Lots of new styles and will share some development process when it drops.

R

Pics of the FW12 collection below-




Cool stuff Richard!

Hey, Gear Junkie… Cool. I know him.

Hi Richard

Good work.

Are the seamless styles made using hi-frequency weld?

Seamless style is made using no-sew laminate construction. It uses a special kind of backing laminate glue on the PU/TPU overlays in combination with heat and pressure to fuse the materials together. Stronger and more integrated than an HF weld, and also can be used to fuse mesh to mesh or microfiber to mesh, etc.

R

Nice. So do you need metal pattern moulds as with HF welded uppers, or is it a simpler process?

thanks

I can’t recall what the molds are made from, but they are metal I think. It is generally a more expensive and complicated process and one done by very few specialty suppliers (not in the footwear fty).

There are three parts to the process- first the lamination of the hot melt film to the back of the material, and second die cutting of the material, then the hot press lamination of one part to the other within the mold.

The machines are Korean or German I believe.

R

R,
These are very nice, well measured & mature designs.
Nice color palette & patterns…with some very interesting detailing…

  • On outer sole, from cylindrical projections at forefeet (flexibility) & cavities at heel, leads to flat base (shock absorbing) … Like

What was the other shoe closure system with Velcro?
Midsole & Outsole is together as a single piece?
There are two different types of lace stay, was it requirement for asymmetrical lacing?

I am in the early phase of shoe understanding, ignore any amateur questions.

The shoe with velcro is below. BASE. It has a velcro X strap where the medial side is fixed and the lateral side is adjust, with self centering tension thanks to central nylon D-ring.

The outsole design goes from recessed to raised tread in key sections to provide different kind of traction as well as wear (shoe is designed for forefoot/midfoot strike so the focus is on the forefoot). Outsole BTW is also curved in section profile in forefoot and heel to mimic the foot and is even concave under the ball of the foot.

The 1pc midsole /outsole, are you talking about the new SS13 model with IBR?

The two different type of eyestay on the leather shoe was not needed for asymmetrical construction but provides a different sort of lock down and aesthetic.

Happy to answer any questions.

R

I think the German ones are called Bemis welders.

Thanks R, for answering Qs.

The 1pc midsole /outsole, are you talking about the new SS13 model with IBR?

IBR stands for?
I got confused from the wrap around look of sole. I am guessing here (most of shoes have) outsole with rubber & midsole with EVA or composite. What is the thickness of the sole together?
How tread pattern is designed …aesthetics vs functionality ? or both together.
SS13 has better tread because of through flex groove than FW12 ? Or this is less mattered because of the thickness of the midsole?
The insole provides support for the arch? Ortho? Flat?
Heel counter is replaced by cup sole design?
Upper used in Base Ro1 : Vamp is in durable nylon mesh & heel area is in cozy air mesh ?

R,

When at Umbro we were working with Pittards leather. They said and shown us your Skora shoe. How has this upper worked with the stretching side of things as we found this a problem in football boots. I suppose football boots require a lot more foot movement etc which equates to the stretching

I previously used Pittards while at hummel on football boots 2006-08. As far as i know we were the first to use the goat on football boots. It’s how I first got to know them. Goat does stretch but at hummel we were able to overcome the issues with different combos of reinforcement. Took a bit of experimentation to get it right. I don’t recall the exact combo but I know there’s a post on my first pullover blog that shows the inside.

Also requires a good pattern maker taking into account stretch, correct cutting (leather stretches more across width of the backbone than head to toe) and correct lasting tension.

Using it on SKORA running shoes we never had issues. Running shoes have much less lateral forces when in use so less stretch and runners don’t seem to be as concerned with such a snug fit. The stretch is also good to some degree as it forms to your foot.

R

It’s great to see Skora take off in your hands R, congrats on what you’ve done!

It’s been cool to hear snippets about your processes too… I’d love to hear more about how you crafted the brand language - It’d be a great Core77 article!

I’ve put together a mini case-study about one of the new shoes, CORE.


You can find it here: (PDF link)

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2074253/DC_SKORA_CORE_case_study_03.pdf

An overview:


Some process highlights:


I also designed the new website recently launched (http://www.skorarunning.com). Working on putting together some content from that design process.

R