Salomon
ABOUT SALOMON
Salomon is an outdoor sports manufacturer based in the small Alpine town of Annecy, France, founded in 1947 by François Salomon. The brand is best known for its high-quality Salomon trail running shoes, hiking boots, and winter sports equipment for skiing and snowboarding.
Primarily known as a performance brand, Salomon is no stranger to collaborations and has accelerated its relevance and sneaker designs in the fashion footwear segment in recent years. Salomon XT-6, initially designed for performance, has become a fashion staple with various collabs.
Gorp core hype has made people think differently of Salomon street-style sneakers, edging into luxury streetwear with their technical running shoes. What started as an ultra-comfy functional running shoe has become the go-to shoe for city folk, including Bella Hadid, Rihanna, Kanye, and A$AP Rocky.
IS SALOMON A GOOD BRAND?
Salomon shoes are known for their high-quality outdoor footwear, trail running shoes, and durable boots. Additionally to the top-notch footwear, the Salomon clothing line features a variety of categories, including accessories, shirts, outdoor jackets, backpacks, and winter sports equipment.
The 70-year-old hiking brand has become famous for its Salomon street style, utilitarian, functional, outdoors-inspired gear, namely, Gorp Core. Salomon’s trail running shoes have been at the forefront of the hype, doubling up as a fashion statement shoe for a city stroll and a mountain hike.
WHERE ARE SALOMON SHOES MADE?
As with many other brands, Salomon sneakers are produced in Asia but the brand hasn’t officially stated where its shoes and clothing are made. However, Salomon has recently brought a part of the production closer to home and opened a new Advanced Shoe Factory in partnership with a local textile company Chamatex in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France in 2022.
The new Salomon factory has automated production, which will speed up production and the go-to-market process. Bringing the product closer to demand will also minimize its carbon footprint.
DO SALOMON SHOES RUN SMALL?
Whether Salomon shoes run small or not ultimately depends on the style. For example, we’ve noticed Salomon trail running shoes to be relatively snug and can be a little tight from the toes. On the other hand, Salomon hiking shoes are generally true to their size and are more accommodating.
ARE SALOMON HIKING BOOTS GOOD?
Salomon hiking boots are one of the best in the world, and when it comes to specialist hiking boots, they truly deserve their position at the top of the list. Made out of top-quality, durable materials, whether for winter sports or mountain hikes, Salomon keeps innovating via new shoe technology in their designs.
ARE SALOMON SHOES WATERPROOF?
Salomon sneakers are perfect for hiking and outdoor conditions. However, not all Salomon footwear is waterproof. For example, Men’s trail running shoes such as Speedcross 6 Gore-Tex or women’s trail shoe Alphacross 4 Gore-Tex are designed for various terrains with a waterproof upper.
WHO OWNS SALOMON?
Salomon is owned by Amer Sports, a Finnish sporting goods subsidiary of China’s Anta Sports. The outdoor sports company Salomon was bought from Adidas AG in 2005 for nearly $500 million. Adidas had owned Salomon from 1997 until 2005 but decided to sell the business as it moved away from producing ski clothing and equipment.
WHERE TO BUY SALOMON SHOES?
You can buy Salomon shoes directly at the Highsnobiety shop.
1947
Salomon brand was founded in 1947 in France, in a small alpine village called Annecy in France. Set up by Francois Salomon with the help of his wife and son, it was a family-run business that started as a small workshop making specialized ski equipment at the time.
1957
Salomon developed another product, “Atlas,” a safety binding, and filed a second patent. Followed by its success, the company hired more employees and expanded its product range.
1966
Merely 19 years after starting the company, Salomon bindings made it to the 1966 World Alpine championships in Chile, growing worldwide interest in its products.
1972
After a wider success of Salomon’s innovative binding technology, the “Atlas” safety binding, and the self-release heel piece, Salomon became a world-leading and preferred ski bindings supplier.
1979
Salomon launched its first ski boot, the “SX90,” using plastic molding and more technical materials and textiles. The boots were first launched only to the France consumer market, and following its success, worldwide.
1980
By 1980, Salomon had become the leading manufacturer of ski boots after launching the Système Nordique Salomon (SNS) binding system.
Salomon also launched their first Japanese subsidiary.
1990
Ten years later, Salmon developed their product range further and released their first ski called “S9000”.
1992
1992 was important as it marked a moment when Salomon started producing hiking shoes, focusing on the active and outdoor adventure customer segment with the Adventure 7 model.
1997
Salomon introduced snowboards, including shoes and apparel, under a new brand called Bonfire. Moreover, inline skating became popular, and Salomon extended their range.
Salomon was acquired by adidas.
2002
The brand released Salomon XA PRO, a trail running shoe pioneer.
2005
Salomon is bought by sporting goods company Amer Sports.
2008
Beginning of the trail running boom develops Salomon skin bag design for minimal equipment for hiking and running.
2011
Salomon Quest walking boots are released.
2013
In 2013, the Salomon XT-6, originally designed for long-distance trail running shoes, was released, marking the beginning of Salomon street style as a breakthrough among the urban and fashion audience.
2016
In October 2016, Jean-Philippe Lalonde joined Salomon as a lifestyle footwear program manager.
2019
Jean-Philippe Lalonde accelerates Salomon’s opportunities in the fashion segment. Brings innovation to Salomon’s product design and started merging fashion and performance in Salomon footwear designs.
2020
Salomon starts to win over city dwellers with their Palace x Salomon collab.
2021
Salomon opened an advanced production facility in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in France to make the shipping and production process more sustainable, partnering with textiles supplier Chamatex.
2022
The brand celebrates its 75th anniversary with Salomon XT-6 Expanse, RAID WIND, and XT-QUEST fall capsule.
The first shoe off the production line from Salomon’s new factory in France, Salomon Captiva ASF 4.0 hiking, is released.
Salomon collaborates with XT-6 Salomon x And Wander.
Salomon becomes a true contender in the sneaker industry’s fashion and gore-tex space with the new Salomon XT-6 “GORE-TEX” design.
Salomon continues to break away from performance sports releasing streetwear collabs GR10K X Salomon, MM6 Maison Margiela X Salomon, and revealing MM6 X Salomon for SS23.
