Speedcross 5: Re-Designing a Legend

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Asked to explain the design process behind the new Speedcross 5 shoe, Salomon’s Global Footwear Design & Innovation Sport Science Director Philippe Besnard says he and his team went back to the “source code”. When Philippe first started saying “source code”, people around the Salomon Annecy Design Center (ADC) looked at him somewhat curiously.

Pressed to elaborate recently, Besnard leapt out of his chair, ran to a nearby white board and began scribbling. (He’s a passionate guy, so he does that fairly often.)

“The source code is the fundamental origin of the shoe; the essence,” he explains. “Its definition is unique. The shoe can evolve from there, but the essence will never change. With Speedcross, you know it’s ready for outdoor unpredictability just by looking at its athletic silhouette and aggressive lugs. You can see that it will be agile and bite the ground because of the lugs. It’s like a motocross tire, with no compromise. And you can’t take the lugs from the Speedcross because that ability to bite the ground is part of the source code.”