Source: Cole Haan Overtake and Outpace
My household owns a combined 20+ pair of Cole Haan… many of them no longer see the light of day. When I was teaching and doing guest lectures I dressed in more fashion centered apparel. Over the last 5 years my Lunargrands and Grand.Os shoes saw less time on-foot. I credit Cole Haan with the rise of Stance and other sock brands. When the previously Nike owned brand introduced Lunarlon to dress shoes, it was a game changer. Bolder choices were made when dressing because of the pink, yellow, blue, white Lunarlon outsoles on the wingtips. The brand even did collabs with Fragment. The Wingtip was made of a pebbled leather with a sail white outsole and the lightning logo on the tongue. (I resold those shoes for 300 and up). Cole Haan defined the transition from the stiff, Wall Street ‘Brooks Brothers suits with Allen Edmonds’ look, to the everyday style of no tie, fitted suit, no socks, or wild socks look typically assigned to casual Fridays.
Cole Haan was a game changer.
Then Cole Haan opened an eBay store and moved towards a stronger DTC model with outlet shops. The brands perception of high end moved towards a mid-tiered model and then dropped down to a Nordstrom’s Rack find as the company made too many models leading to blowout sales. Resale tanked on Cole Haans. Which, if you know my theory on the importance of resale, meant that Cole Haan had become just another shoe for late twenty something to early forty somethings. The decision to move towards off-price retail locations happened just as the Cole Haan shift in fashion, shifted again to more casual wear from sports brands. Nike sold Cole Haan because they had the foresight to see that they could provide footwear and apparel that allowed the consumer to transition from work to play and fitness without missing a beat. A shoe like the Nike Flyknit Trainer in all white was being styled with leisure suit looks. The lightweight model skyrocketed in resale and adidas not to be outdone introduced UltraBoost which could be seen on women in business suits.
What does all of this mean for Cole Haan right now?
Cole Haan has been dabbling in footwear that could be worn more casually than a wingtip or loafer. I picked up a few pair of Grand Pro Turf, Tennis and Grand Tour Chukkas. I’ve had my eye on Grandsport Trainers and Essex models, but in the last year I’ve leaned heavy into developing this website and running the sneaker shop. I hadn’t pulled the trigger. Why is this important? My career shifted to more of a ‘work from home’ model. Brands focused on fashion and style are encountering the biggest disruption in the history of footwear and apparel: Covid-19. Lord and Taylors just filed for bankruptcy. Luxury brands are falling like leaves in fall. Cole Haan has been working at shifting their product mix and thankfully for the company they began work last year on a more functional product that is perfect for the moment and falls in line with something I’ve been discussing for a few years, the importance of performance footwear even in an athleisure trend:
Above is a picture of the Cole Haan Overtake Runner. Here is the description:
The Overtake is made for anyone whose foot lives pressed against the accelerator. With a conforming, breathable stretch-mesh upper reinforced with support elements to lock your foot in place, the fit is dialed in and focused on moving quickly. The cushioning is tuned for greater responsiveness and energy return, and features flex grooves for an easier transition. Meanwhile, a full-length rubber traction pattern grips the ground to move you forward, fast. It’s high-paced high performance, so you get where you want to go in record time.
What many people think is that a brand can go from concept to release in weeks. While some brands are capable of doing this, it isn’t yet the standard. You can see in the DNA of the Overtake and Outpace elements of previous models from Cole Haan. The natural progression of the brand was to create a training shoe. Their Lunargrand was easily one of the most comfortable fashion shoes ever designed, and with a Nike outsole Cole Haan was able to dabble in a more performance centered approach. The Overtake and Outpace, are the culminations of a fashion brand utilizing every tool in its arsenal at just the right moment.
COVID-19 has led to a resurgence of sports activity. Brands who have performance categories are seeing growth in those areas. This is not a short-term trend in my opinion. Performance is the only category that allows for a conversation to take place on several topics: design, performance, designer, testing and style/materials. While the Cole Haan performance runners are in direct competition with higher end running releases and it faces the headwinds of a promotional environment with the UltraBoost being marked down considerably from 180 to 79, the models are right on time and should give people an alternative.
Cole Haan has a testing journal available on the site. Click the picture to read more. What do you think of this entrance into the performance category?