Keen sneaker sandal: this new ugly shoe is the fashion world’s darling

Functionality, comfort and a pinch of ugliness are the recipe for success for «it» shoes these days. The model Uneek by sustainable outdoor brand Keen proves this once again. The hybrid of sneaker and sandal is an acquired taste. It’s been on the market for ten years and is inspiring hiking and streetwear fans alike.

Keen at Paris Fashion Week

Admittedly, when I first spotted this shoe in our range two years ago, I didn’t see its fashion potential. I thought it was plain ugly. And not in a charming, ironic way, but in a fast-forward scrolling way. Last autumn, I came across the Keen brand a second time – but in an unexpected, completely different context: Paris Fashion Week.

I was watching the dark-romantic fashion show by Japanese brand Noir Kei Ninomiya on YouTube and admiring the shoes from the spring 2024 collection made from braided laces. Shoes created in collaboration with Keen, as I later found out to my surprise. At first glance, the brands seem to have nothing in common. But both are united by the desire to rethink conventional construction methods.

Rebelling against industry standards

Designer Kei Ninomiya has made it his mission to reduce sewing to a minimum in his designs. His guiding principle? In order to create something new, new paths must be taken. Instead of using a needle and thread, he connects the individual components using knots, rings, rivets and eyelets to create complex, sculptural garments.

Rory Fuerst Jr, Head of Innovation at Keen, also defied industry standards when he designed Uneek. His goal was to create a shoe that adapts individually to every foot. «If you wrap a flat material around a three-dimensional shape, it will never sit perfectly. It merely folds and creases,» Fuerst explains in a video on the Portland, Oregon-based brand’s website. For a perfect fit, the surface tension must be broken.

Foot-hugging mesh

Instead of the usual individually sewn parts, the upper material of this trekking sandal consists mainly of two interwoven cords made from recycled plastic. There’s no sewing, welding or gluing and the result is a stretchable mesh that adapts to the foot and provides both support and flexibility. According to Keen, the factories were initially unable to produce the innovative design. A new manufacturing process needed to be developed first in collaboration with Fuerst.

Of course, the open-air sneaker, as Keen calls them, has many other useful features. These include an anatomically shaped inner sole, a shock-absorbing midsole and a flexible outsole with notches for optimum grip. Another interesting feature is the odour-inhibiting Eco Odor Control technology, which permanently binds probiotic microbes to textile fibres. When these organisms come into contact with sweat, they’re activated and break down the odour-forming organic material.

Outdoor brands and their streetwear potential

This sneaker sandal is a sophisticated product, no doubt. But when in comes to its looks, not everyone agrees. Regardless of your taste, the fact is that Uneek are a wonderful fit for today’s fashion world. After all, unconventional shoes and gorpcore, i.e. wearing functional clothing in everyday life, are probably the most prominent fashion phenomena of this decade. Hardshell jackets from Arc'teryx or trekking sneakers from Salomon, for example, are no longer only worn on mountain trails, but also in big cities.

This trend is encouraging outdoor brands to tap into their streetwear potential and focus more on the fashion-conscious public. In recent months, Keen has launched collaborations with respected indie labels such as Hyke from Japan and Only NY from the USA, for example. The fact that Keen shoes are a particularly popular streetwear in East and south-east Asia, shows how effective this kind of positioning can be.

It’s all about context

Unlike Keen’s international Instagram account, the offshoot feeds from Singapore, Japan and Korea are increasingly showcasing the shoes in an urban context. The brand recently received the ultimate popularity boost: K-pop sensation Lisa Manobal, known as a member of the girl band Blackpink, was wearing Uneeks in her Instagram story, showing her over 100 million followers just how versatile the sneaker sandal is.

As is so often the case in fashion, it all depends on the context. On your uncle’s feet, who’s currently hiking the Zermatt Marmot Trail, these kicks probably won’t have the same effect as on a superstar out on a shopping spree in Gangnam. It takes trendsetters who skilfully combine the shoe with their outfit plus a little time to get used to the look and form new associations in our collective memory. But sooner or later, people will probably walk the streets in Keens just as nonchalantly as they do in Crocs and Birkenstocks.

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