MARK SAN BUENAVENTURA

ASK /

Revamp the youth line through a more athletic-inspired construction and aesthetic considering the "playground" as the user's base.

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CHALLENGE /

The outdoor footwear industry has long been associated with rugged qualities and... 'brown'–color and leathery types of material. How do you retain this familiar relationship between consumers and The North Face as your go-to outdoor performance brand while moving the youth product line to a more relevant, athletic performance offering?

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PROCESS /

Performance in footwear relies heavily on its foundation, its tooling design (traction and cushioning elements). Another critical success-factor in youth footwear is cost. Therefore, the primary goal was to create a versatile athletic outsole/midsole that could be used across a variety of environments and activities. The design of the tooling was based on traction and flexibility inspired by movement .

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The uppers needed to address your common outdoor environments–various seasons of essentially hot/dry and cold/wet weather. Considering 'seasons' we were able to create a collection that addressed a child's ambition to play regardless of what the conditions are outside.

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To hone in further on the unique details of this line, a key insight that we wanted to focus on to drive upper design elements was how a kid interacts with their footwear–how they put on/take off their shoes, if they even bother to put them on! Incorporating the brand's footwear design language of the time–the geodesic support element–we created slip-on designs and lacing systems that allowed for ease of use without sacrificing performance.

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