Sustainability and digitalization seem to be the watchwords when the topic is the future. A vision that crosses all sectors, including footwear, where the search for new materials and the digitalization of manufacturing processes are at the top of the agenda. But not only. This complex equation is missing an element increasingly more relevant: comfort.

Let’s go back to 2014. Chanel’s famous show at Paris Fashion Week drastically changed the way we wear shoes. Haut-couture dresses with sneakers roamed the aisles of the catwalk transformed into a supermarket. The transformation of the fashion industry began that day. Today, eight years later, we explore a new formal, with sneakers gaining space even in this wardrobe.

"Chanel gave the validation. There were many brands already thinking about the topic. Streetwear was growing, especially in the male segment”, says Fernando Bastos Pereira. "I would argue that this rise was a reaction to the most uncomfortable shoes. People wanted to start wearing sneakers then because the connection between this type of shoe and well-being and sport was becoming apparent, and they yearned for the comfort of sneakers daily”. For the fashion producer, the greatest transformation done by the industry happened precisely in the tailoring segment, which had to adapt to a sportier trend. Since then, we have seen a complete change in the way we wear shoes. If sneakers were limited to the sports universe, soon the demand for this type of footwear for daily use skyrocketed.
If in the last pre-pandemic seasons streetwear proposals were proliferating, with sweats and sneakers, the pandemic, which forced the retreat to our homes, pushed the demand for comfort and casual wear. The practical and relaxed wardrobe occupied the collective life for two years. However, the deconfinement seems to have the ability to sweep away everything related to the pandemic. What now? Do we want to continue wearing sneakers?

The ’winds’ of the New York Fashion Week appear to confirm the trend and raise a relevant question for the fashion industry. Are we perhaps facing the beginning of the end of sneakers? Great international brands are proposing one Winter with more formality. "We are tired of sneakers”, exhorted the stylist Lazaro Hernandez after the show for the brand Proenza Schouler. The insignia, nearly two decades old, is renowned for its polished and patterned dresses. "We want fashion”, claims Hernandez. 

But how is the footwear industry reacting? In the hallways of the largest footwear fair in the world, the planning for next Winter is already underway, and the proposals are increasingly distinct. However, between formal and informal, there is a common denominator: comfort.

"The increase in average life expectancy, associated with a greater awareness of the importance of the health of feet (the main organ of human locomotion), is raising interest and demand for more comfortable and physiological footwear. The benefits of this type of footwear are numerous, but can be divided essentially into stability, respect for the anatomy of the foot and reduction of muscle fatigue”, says Sofia Ferreira, podiatrist and responsible for the health practice Saúde no Pé.
"Shoes are for wearing on the feet. We cannot forget this”, urges Pedro Alves, responsible for Cool Gray. "There is a functional side to footwear which cannot be forgotten”.  

"In the past, comfort shoes were understood as shoes for old ladies”, jokes José Moura. "Any shoe has to be comfortable to have success. But it is not old-fashioned comfort, with shoes adapted to the morphologies and problems of feet, those are orthopaedics shoes, designed by an orthopaedist. Comfort is something different”, explains the commercial responsible for Suave. 

The footwear company Calsuave, born in 1993, is specialized in comfort footwear. The Suave private label reaches today 31 markets worldwide. And customers across all age groups. "Suave does not work in the fashion area, but there is no doubt that our recent comfort has nothing to do with what we used to do before”.

"A few years ago, this type of footwear was connoted with older and conservative people. In the old days, the comfort shoe was seen as an ugly shoe. It seemed unbreakable, this rule. Fortunately, today is different”, says Pedro Alves. The responsible for Cool Gray defends that the entry of international giants in the market has drastically changed the comfort sector. "The arrival of sneakers had a double impact on the way we dress. First, it has democratized comfort. On the other hand, the feet are so used to sneakers that we find it very strange to go back to a formal shoe. So, the customer buying a pair of shoes wants a comfortable shoe”, adds Pedro Alves.

"The major international brands were always more connected to sports shoes, especially those designed for the sportive practise, which demand a series of extra precautions, have taken advantage of this know-how, introducing it in the footwear production”, says Moura from Suave. "We are speaking about companies that made running shoes, football shoes, etc., and that know-how was associated with the footwear we know today”, he concluded.

But the times when comfortable shoes were exclusively made for older age groups are over. The age range of Plumex, a company specialized in comfort footwear, is above 50 years old. But not for long. "People in this age range are not very concerned with the fashion side, but with comfort”. However, "the age group of our customers is getting lower and lower. We have already noticed that younger people prefer more sporty and comfortable shoes over high heels, for example”, admits Pedro Carlos.

"Comfort offers many things. We can have a shoe that is simultaneously elegant and comfortable. Suave does not work directly in the fashion area, but there is no doubt that our most recent comfort has nothing to do with what we used to do. We have sneakers for young people, we have footwear that can easily be worn by a young person of 20 years”. Besides, explains José Moura, "comfort crosses all age groups”.
To reach a younger audience, Pedro Carlos is "developing more fun colours. We use the same models, but we change the soles to embody sportier looks”.
But technically, what makes a comfortable shoe? "Comfort is a word that encompasses many things, from shape measurements, fitting, selected materials (either on the sole, insole or uppers), soft leathers, to types of sewing. Comfort is a very comprehensive concept. The important thing is that the foot is well inside the shoe and that walking is pleasant”, explains José Moura. "Comfort is the sum of many small details: technical issues, shapes, materials, better adaptation to people’s foot morphologies, technical production issues”, says Pedro Alves. "But overall is a matter of principle. Our company is specialist in comfort, we have been working in this field for over 20 years, with different declinations.

"There are various elements to consider: the measurement of shapes, the width of sole, the concern with the line of toes, the anatomical plantar that supports the arch of the foot. The sole must be flexible, it cannot be heavy, but cannot slip… the upper must be soft, the seams must not touch the sensitive parts of the feet (such as bunions and instep). Introducing all this into fashion was a difficult process, but today the concern is about what is seen and, above all, what is felt”, explains the responsible for Suave.

At Plumex, "the construction of footwear avoids interior seems as much as possible to not cause any discomfort”. Pedro Carlos explains that the brand tries to provide "maximum elasticity, namely when speaking about customers with some kind of deformation, and flexibility”. The brand was born in 1990 by the hands of the company Tamancão, and combines high technology with artisanal processes to produce shoes of great quality and maximum comfort”.
"We start from the use and the foot and are generous about dimensions. We do not sacrifice everything to create a fantastic silhouette. We want it to be comfortable and aesthetic, but it is a very fine line that demands balance. In doubt, we choose comfort”, says the responsible for Cool Gray.
But is comfort confined to a simple product range? No, comfort can be applied to all types of shoes. "There are many ways of introducing comfort in shoes”, states José Moura. "There are already solutions in classic footwear that learned from this segment. For example, introducing upper sponges to protect the heel, designing a pointed shape with exceptional length, among others”, explains Suave’s strong man.
"I confess that I have more and more difficulty in tagging products. Comfort came into fashion in the same way that fashion came into comfort. Currently, we pass white checks to fashion. Shoes can be fantastic, but they must be wearable. Nowadays, we have a term of comparison”, says Pedro Alves.  

Podiatrist Sofia Ferreira believes "genuinely that the future of footwear will involve this type of product. First, because are no longer only the elderly people looking for comfort and stability for their feet, younger people also favour comfort when buying a pair of shoes. Second, because of the effort made by the footwear industry to make these products more aesthetically appealing and youthful, inviting all types of public to use them without the old stigma of the ‘ugly orthopaedic shoe’ looming”, states.

Shoes up to 45
Operating in niche markets with high-growth potential is one of Cool Gray’s strategies, a company with over 20 years of experience in comfort footwear production. Thus, it offers women shoes from sizes 32 to… 45. "It is a market need. We have a corporate culture of looking for niches where we can potentiate our know-how. We understood that there was a niche of women wearing sizes 42 and 43, as well as 32 and 33, and we wanted them to find a modern and comfortable product”, says Pedro Alves. "It is one of the fastest-growing segments, especially in the north of Europe”.

But news do not stop here. In addition to the Aerobics and Bella b brands, we recently launched the Uniform-Soes insignia, which is focused on professional footwear. "We also realized that there was an opportunity in the corporate area where we could be using our know-how”.

They also exist and are part of Storm’s workmanship. The company offers large sizes for the male public, which range from the usual 40 to 52. It is a way of reaching new customers, filling a market gap.

Is comfort sustainable?
Can Comfort be sustainable, or is the search for maximum performance incompatible with environmental concerns? Pedro Abrantes believes sustainability must be allied to comfort, luxury and performance.
"In the sustainability field, we can design various shoes, but we are relatively stuck concerning comfort. It is difficult to have a product that wants to give steps in the sustainability field because the components are not yet all developed”, advances the CEO of d’asportuguesas. "Using certain components, such as gel or latex – which are not sustainable – call for further research to make us give jump other leaps in the future”.