Capitalizing on the current trend for deliberately functional footwear and currently crystallizing around the apparent rise of the trail sneaker, Salomon embraces the fashion world by blacking out their S/LAB collection in time for summer.

The new S/LAB Black Edition project comprises a range of silhouettes from the French Alpine footwear label’s celebrated performance line, "switching off" the famed red/white colorway to create the S/LAB Speed Black, the S/LAB Sense 5 Ultra Black, the S/LAB Sonic Black. A further four silhouettes, the S/LAB Wings 8 Black, the S/LAB Speedcross Black, the S/LAB Snowcross Black, and the S/LAB X ALP GTX® Black, are dropping soon.

As the most conspicuous footwear label when it comes to trail sneakers, this is pretty interesting stuff from Salomon. The S/LAB line is, at heart, a performance line designed for running, trail running, winter running and fast mountaineering, and S/LAB Black Edition models are functionally no different.

The decision to black out the line came from a realization that people might want to wear the distinctive Salomon silhouette, but that the louder colorways might not be for everyone: "By pulling all color out of the shoes, we’ve brought the shoes down to their purest form," explains Salomon lifestyle product line manager Julien Traverse. "[It’s the] simplest expression of Salomon’s essence – performance. A pure expression of form, without the distraction of color."

The first three S/LAB Black Edition models – S/LAB Sonic Black, S/LAB Speed Black, S/LAB Sense 5 Ultra Black – are available now online and at the below stores. The remaining four S/LAB Black models dropping in the next few weeks.

Available at:

The Broken Arm, Paris Kapadokya, Lyon Mr Porter 290 Square Meters, Amsterdam Soto, Berlin LimitEditions, Barcelona Inner Antonioli, Milan Norse Store, Copenhagen Yme Universe, Oslo 90sqm, Zurich En Route, Tokyo Beams, Tokyo Best Packing, Tokyo