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Sandals too
The Terrain sandal takes the BIOM principles into this type
of footwear too. Ecco’s sandals have been the bestselling part
of the collection worldwide since the Off Road sandal was
launched in 2006. In the US, Ecco is the second biggest
selling sandal in the market, says Mr Nicolai. The Terrain
sandal has a direct injected PU midsole that rides up the
upper. In this respect it is like the shoes but unlike the running
shoe, it has a rubber outer sole for harder wear. It also
features the more anatomical last and footbed from the non-
running shoe part of the BIOM collection. It has a microfibre
sock liner, lighter than leather. The upper is in PU-coated
synthetic so that it stands up to salt water.
The BIOM lite casual wear shoes are less protective, very
comfortable and extremely flexible as they have no shank at all.
Styles are updates on classic constructions, the Velcro ballerina
and the lace-up. More trendy are the new ballerinas with no
strap, looking more sophisticated than before, and more city-
like. Sports inspired, and super light is the new aquasock
inspired slip-on made in stretchy spandex-like material.
Training and walking shoes
There are additional colours and styles in each category of
the collection: the bright neon colours that were a hallmark of
the top of the line collection in summer 2012 have been
added to the rest of the mainstream collection, right in line
with sports and shoe trends. There are new uppers on the
walking shoe and on the cross training shoe.
Infant shoes
What about the future of the BIOM range in the Ecco
stable? Mr Nicolai points out that the concept will be
constantly improved and also expanded on. They are
introducing an infant’s version. This isn’t just a scaled-down
version of the adult’s shoes but designed around infant’s feet,
a subject close to Mr Nicolai’s heart as he has an infant son.
“Children’s feet are more flexible than adults,” he says. “They
get more input from the ground. Children in the developing
world actually have stronger foot muscles as they exercise
their feet every day when they run around with no shoes. The
BIOM for infants allows the feet to get more input from the
ground than regular infants’ shoes. Here Ecco goes against
traditional opinions and marketing by established German
and Austrian brands that claim that baby feet must have
support at the ankles and also often in the arch area, too, to
help feet grow healthy and correctly.
The Ecco BIOM collection running shoes have been based
on measurements taken from 2,500 German athletes by the
University of Cologne. These were all scanned in digitally.
They created a database and evaluated the average
measurement for width of heel and forefoot. One interesting
result is that they have readjusted the new collection for
better fit, and there was a need for a tighter heel counter.
Even if the forefoot is spread, the heel is still slim in a normal
athlete. So the new BIOM shoes are slimmer in the midfoot
and the heel cup than in the first generation of the shoes.
The Ecco sports shoes are based on mid-European
footwear sizing, using Scandinavian and German
measurements (which are roomier in the fit than, say, French
measurements). Despite this, they have sold very well in Asia,
too, with no adjustment to the fit, except that there are more
styles available in smaller sizes such as women’s size 35.
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BAREFOOT SHOES, DANISH STYLE
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012 | www.footwearbiz.com
Ecco Hike, an all year round lightweight hiker with Gore-Tex.
BIOM Lite casual shoes are
extremely light and flexible.