Carhartt WIP Made a Tough Salomon Sneaker Even Tougher
Carhartt WIP and Salomon reunite for a second collaboration, this time taking on the X-ALP, a shoe that already knows how to handle rough terrain and daily wear.
Their first link-up made the formula clear: take a Salomon silhouette built for bad conditions and let Carhartt reinforce it, not dress it up. This follow-up sticks even closer to that idea.
The X-ALP is already a proper alpine trail shoe. A thick rubber mudguard wraps the upper, meeting a deeply lugged outsole finished with a subtle flecked texture that reads as wear insurance rather than decoration.
The mixed-material construction is built to take hits, manage splash, and keep moving across uneven ground.
Carhartt WIP’s influence shows up in the materials. Grainy leather and suede overlays give the shoe extra weight and structure, while the brand’s familiar duck camouflage appears as a quiet nod to its workwear archive.
These aren’t novelty touches but the same visual language Carhartt has used for decades on jackets and uniforms meant to be worn hard.
The campaign, directed by Bailey Marklew, leans into a moody, low-fi atmosphere that mirrors the shoe’s utilitarian edge, letting the design speak without over-explaining itself.
The Carhartt WIP x Salomon X-ALP arrives via Salomon’s website on December 18 for $200, bringing together two brands known for rugged reliability. But both are also staples in the fashion collab circuit, showing up everywhere from partnerships with Sacai and MM6 to Dover Street Market.
In Carhartt’s case, it even played a role in the recent Clipse rollout. These are two brands that put in work.
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