Running into luxury On the down Loewe

Running is one of the most accessible forms of exercise. The equipment required for running is pretty minimal, shoes, socks, shorts, shirt, and for some, a sports bar. Now, if you are an avid runner, you may also throw in a runners belt or vest, a watch with GPS, and an independent heart rate monitor. 

The most essential component being shoes vary in price point, but a decent running shoe can be purchased for as low as $40 on sale from brands like Adidas, Asics, Nike, and REI Co-Op. 

And the more into running you get the more you will care about your shoe and its fit, often leading runners to running stores where they have machines that map your foot.

This machine then suggests the perfect shoes for you based on your foot and the type of running you are doing, long distance, short distance, trail running, treadmills, concrete, tracks, races, and wherever else your feet may be taking you. 

Another important component of this fitting is having well versed employees on the floor to help you pick your shoe and analyse how you strike the ground and what else you may need.  

Different shoes work for different people. 

My shoe is the Brooks Launch series. I started wearing this shoe close to 10 years ago. It has cushion, but it’s not too thick, it fits well with my foot and how I strike the ground. I can run on the track, strand, or treadmill, and I feel like it supports me. It’s my shoe. 

This shoe was not cute when I first got it. Running shoes weren’t really sleek or fashionable back in the day. Truly the only good looking shoes were Nike, which have classically been too wide for my foot, and are known to not be the greatest. 

A year or two after I had started wearing my Brooks, this new shoe came into my running store, and I was in awe of it. I wanted a pair so badly. They were gorgeous, they were innovative, they were ✨different✨. 

These shoes were the Swiss ingenuity of On. The Cloud series was (and still is) sleek, refined, interesting to look at, and ultimately a totally new concept to the running community. 

On quickly became a highly acclaimed running shoe brand and is loved by many with shoes retailing for around $150. 

Back in 2017, Nike embarked on its first collaboration with Virgil Abloh and Off-White. 

This was the first notable and highly publicised collaboration of a luxury brand collaborating with a brand fairly accessible to the common man, making high fashion relatively tangible to your average person. 

Rather than dishing out $400-$1000 for a pair of designer shoes, this collaboration allowed consumers to buy into the designer lifestyle for around $200 on the retail market. 

The epitome of this collaboration is fashion, it’s streetwear, it’s status. 

Being able to buy into the luxury world at a lower price point is a fascinating strategy on its own.

The resale market of Nike x Off-White is a totally different story though. 

On hinted into this world of collaboration when Jonathan Anderson, the creative director of the Spanish luxury house Loewe, wore On shoes at Loewe’s Fall/Winter 2022 show. 

The first collaboration launched with a clothing and footwear range. The line retailed at a starting point of $240 for a T-shirt all the way up to $1135 for a lightweight parka. 

Footwear in the line ranged from $370 to $450. 

While I fully support almost any luxury collaboration, and while I love the aesthetic of this collaboration, I have to say it leaves me perplexed. 

Obviously Nike x Off-White is meant to be a statement, their shoes are not really meant for exercise use, more for just the purpose of fashion.

Conversely, On x Loewe is meant for the function of exercise and running. 

Their latest collaboration, The Loewe On Capsule Collection, has pivoted to just focusing on footwear which still ranges from $450-$490. 

Meanwhile Loewe’s own sneakers retail from $590-$890. 

When Skims collaborated with Fendi, their bodysuits retailed for $120-$175, a staggering price margin compared to a bodysuit solely by Fendi which will retail for $750. 

Looking at other collaborations, at face value it is curious that Loewe and On’s collaboration does not seem to be significantly more feasible for the common man.

But maybe that’s just the point. 

Even the fastest marathoner in the word, Eliud Kipchoge, is not wearing nearly $500 running shoes. Instead he opted for the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly’s, retailing for $285, when he beat the world record clocking 26.2 miles in 02:01:09. 

Clearly, $500 running shoes are not essential for pursuing the sport, even at the highest level.

So what's the point?