Phileo's All-New Salomon Trek Shoe Is an Outrageously Organic Hybrid
Phileo's Salomon collaborations started off strong, emphasizing texture over trope-y design cliches. And Phileo and Salomon's Alpinway SP2 sneaker isn't just a strong follow-up, but the debut of an all-new Salomon trek shoe.
French footwear designer Phileo previously took on the Salomon XT-SP1, transforming the hardwearing shoe into a furry wild card that sublimely combined style and substance. Sounds easy but it ain't.
Likewise, Phileo's Salomon Alpinway SP2 is a terrifically powerful hybrid sneaker that's again the best of both worlds. Actually, it's even better.
Whereas Phileo's Salomon XT-SP1 was a truly adventurous outing that took a familiar shoe into uncharted terrain — perhaps to the detriment of its crossover appeal, what with that fluffy exterior — the Phileo Salomon Alpinway SP2 is a terrifically approachable design that brings a little organic flair to a type of shoe that's all too often unpleasantly technical.
Inverted subtlety is a Phileo strong suit, perhaps because the young creative was schooled at Phoebe Philo's Céline.
You can see that understated elegance manifested by Phileo's soft suede Alpinway sneakers, which add a gently textural element to a semi-sleek adventure shoe, amplifying the black and green colorways' respective tonal appeal.
Small rope laces, cleverly layered mesh panels, and Salomon's trim but trusty Contragrip outsole make the Alpinway a serious style contender. But leave it to Phileo to upgrade it even further with suede, a pleasantly unusual material for a tough trail shoe.
Compare to the original Alpinway's more utilitarian makes for reference — the Alpinway SP2 hasn't even properly released yet and Phileo's already perfected it with a pair that's set to release at Dover Street Market locations on October 24.
