Raf Simons reveals new hybrid sneakers (Runner) in Paris

UPDATE 16/01/2019: At Raf Simons' FW20 collection show, the Belgian designer revealed his long-awaited line of shoes (Runner). The line consists of five models, called SOLARIS, ANTEI, CYLON, ORION and 2001, which have the leather upper of the classic Chelsea Boots with heel zip and a rubber sole typical of sneakers. The colorways in which they appear are white, black and red with strong contrasts of color between the leather upper and the sole unit, which also features the Raf Simons branding. The new line of hybrid shoes (Runner), whose appearance was kept secret until last night's show, went against the expectations of the public who, according to Simons' announcement on the influence of sportswear on the new footwear line, was convinced that the designer would reveal actual sneakers.

The (Runner) collection will officially debut at the Simons's show during Paris Fashion Week, will be available from January 18th to 23rd at the French showroom of the designer while the global release is scheduled between July and September of this year.

Raf Simons will present a new collection of sports shoes during the upcoming Paris Fashion Week. The collection is called (Runner), it will not be a collaboration and will see used innovative processing techniques and silhouettes, with technological changes and colorways with strong contrasts. Natural materials, especially leather and suede, will be the protagonists of a collection that wants to re-imagine the future of sports shoes. The official images of the (Runner) line have not yet been made public, but you can get an idea of Simons' stile based on the previous shoes he designed for adidas, Calvin Klein and Dr. Martens scrolling the gallery below.

Simons also announced that the name of each model will bring a reference to the production process through which it was created. In addition, the names appear to be quotes to sci-fi cinema with a shoe named "Solaris", a reference to Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpiece, another one called "2001," which will perhaps be inspired by Kubrick's film of the same name, and another one "Cylon," like Battlestar Galactica's robots.