Salomon’s XT-6 Sneaker Has Received the Nod of Approval From Sneaker and Streetwear Fans: History of the Brand + Where to Cop

Since the beginning of the global pandemic, we witnessed a shift in people indulging in comfortability and functionality over style-based fashions with the quick adjustment to at-home lifestyles. Many brands began to offer clothing and footwear that would be versatile, durable, and more importantly, comfortable. Along with the lifestyle change, we observed consumers lean toward other brands such as New Balance and ASICS over Nike and adidas, which is possibly due to the “hyped” nature of coveted releases by both brands who posses hard-to-cop heavy-hitters like Virgil Alboh’s Off-White and Kanye West’s Yeezy. Amongst those sneaker brands rising in popularity and starting to gain recognition is Salomon, whose running shoes are making a dash through the streets.

Salomon is a French sports manufacturing company that was founded by François Salomon in 1947. Originally, the company was launched as a ski equipment workshop in Annecy, France, inventing the first-ever binding with a self-release heelpiece which would later be showcased at the 1966 Olympics and further label the brand as the “number one binding manufacturer in the world” in 1972. The company’s purpose centered around producing functional, innovative and comfortable gear for their customers who wanted to tackle the great outdoors with no worries. In the 1990s, François’ son Georges took lead at Salomon’s helm, pushing the company to new diversified heights starting with the launch of hiking shoes. In 2001, Salomon introduced their inaugural shoe known as the Raid Race, which encompassed the core design details of the brand that set the tone for the successor running models like the popular XT-6.

@justineeagana

During the 2010s, Salomon truly made a deep dive into the fashion industry with the pursuit of fashion collaborations. Teaming up with The Broken Arm in 2015, Salomon was able to combine their performance features with elements of streetwear fashion to form a successfully noteworthy collaboration with the Parisian boutique. This particular project served as the brand’s first true entry point into the industry and influenced other collaborations such as the ongoing partnership with German menswear designer Boris Bidjan Saberi. Other collaborations include Palace and BEAMS as well as Commes des Garçons, who recently unveiled their latest Spring/Summer 2022 collection during this month’s Paris Fashion Week which included collaborative Salomon footwear. Now, the brand is gaining more momentum in the fashion and sneaker industry because of perfect-match partnerships in addition to their footwear’s functionality, play on colorways and incredible performance details.

Salomon went on to launch their Sportstyle division with Jean-Phillippe Lalonde leading as the special projects manager, with styles that have definitely tugged at the heart of sneaker and streetwear lovers. Through Sportstyle, Salomon maintains their heritage performance-oriented silhouettes with the infusion of street style elements. One of the most popular silhouettes of Sportstyle seems to be the XT-6 , designed by footwear design manager Benjamin Genet. The XT-6 comes in various nature-inspired colorways, which is one detail of the shoe that has made it so appealing to the public. Launched in 2013, the sneaker features EVA cushioning matched with TPU film and mesh on the upper and rubber on the outsole for lightness and durability. Additionally, the model appears with easygoing bungee laces, known as Quicklace®. With such fashionable appeal and skillfully crafted running capabilities, the unisex shoe retails for $190.

Not to mention, the model received the Rihanna stamp of approval when the fashion icon and singer wore the sneakers during her 31st birthday in 2019.

Within the sneaker and streetwear realm, we are seeing the Salomon XT-6 gain much popularity. Fashion’s tastemakers can be seen pairing the sneakers with utility vests, cargos, and co-ord sets as well as more formal pieces like blazers or dresses. Whether it is the favoring of comfort or the ditching of go-to brands Nike and adidas, the XT-6 is unlike your typical sneaker with no misses on colorways.

@chvndler

After seeing them in street style or even reading this article, you may interested in a pair now. Here are some of the hottest XT-6 colorways that we are currently seeing.