Luxury Autos Drive Limited Sneaker Designs

News recently came to light about two limited-edition sneaker collaborations, namely Alfa Romeo pairing with Greats and Porsche teaming with Puma. These new initiatives are a reminder of how car brands, especially on the luxury end of the scale, have been common and high-profile players in the crowded sneaker-collaboration space for years, with the frequency of new deal announcements still accelerating. The car-branded footwear collections typically feature sleek designs that combine performance, innovative tech, and style, reflecting the brand images of both partners.

A handful of representative examples—often part of ongoing collaborations involving many product drops—illustrate the close relationship between luxury automotive brands and sneakers:

• The collaboration between Italian car marketer Alfa Romeo and Brooklyn-based luxury sneaker brand Greats, announced in February, saw the two brands create a handmade-in-Italy, premium white leather shoe imprinted with the former’s logo across the side in script and its badge on the heel. The release was timed to the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, with lots of promotional activities held throughout the city on Big Game Weekend.

• In February, Porsche and Puma dropped their latest collaborative shoe in partnership with NBA player and Puma endorser LaMelo Ball. The product is a version of the Puma MB.03, Ball’s signature shoe. The design is mainly yellow with black accents, with Porsche branding featured on the heel and tongue. Several drops of the MB.03 since its introduction in June 2023 have integrated outside IP, from the Cartoon Network show Dexter’s Laboratory to the Gutter Cat Gang NFT brand. Porsche and Puma, meanwhile, have also paired for a number of shoe models over time.

• In January, Lamborghini and apparel retailer Tod’s announced a collection of Italian-made sneakers and loafers, mostly in bright hues. The sneakers come in four colorways (including one white), with leather uppers, suede inserts, and Lamborghini logos on the sides. The loafers come in seven colorways and are a version of Tod’s Gommino model, with smooth and striped leather reflecting Lamborghini’s livery (the paint job that identifies a Lamborghini racing car). The footwear is the start of a broader collection that is expected to include apparel, accessories, and leather goods.

• Renault paired with Savoir-Faire Paris, a high-end French sneaker brand, last May. The partnership yielded 960 handmade pairs of physical shoes, inspired by the Renault 5 Turbo car model. There were 160 pairs each of six models in keeping with the car’s 160-horsepower engine. Design elements included a back slope emulating a chassis, seatbelt-inspired shoe laces, and interiors reflecting the 5 Turbo’s upholstery. Each pair was connected to a unique NFT, or digital twin, version that gave the purchaser access to a dedicated collection of customizable merchandise and entry to a meet-up with the brand designers at the car company’s Research and Development Center. Scanning a chip in the tongue activates a second NFT that contains a certificate of authenticity and detailed information about the design and production history of the shoe.

• British luxury brand McLaren Automotive has offered several drops of its APL McLaren HySpeed sneakers, produced in partnership with L.A.-based footwear brand Athletic Propulsion Labs (APL). The partnership launched in 2022, with three new color combinations introduced in early 2023. The partnership highlights the two brands’ reputation for innovation, with McLaren being an early adopter of carbon fiber and APL known for its compression springs and ultra-light midsoles and outsoles.

• Bentley teamed with Adidas in November 2022 for a version of the latter’s Forum Low model, created with a third collaborator, sneaker designer Dominic Cambrione, “The Shoe Surgeon.” The shoe incorporates materials and design elements used by the car brand’s Mulliner division, which creates custom interiors for owners. Details included cross-stitching, similar to the stitching on steering-wheel seams, premium hides, and Bentley’s unique diamond-quilted leather trim. There were three versions, incorporating the colors and other features of Bentley’s S and Speed car ranges, the Azure range, and the Mulliner car, respectively. The very limited edition included 10 pairs of each.

It should be noted that this list includes just a tiny sampling of projects from a very active sector of the collaborative sneaker market.

Meanwhile, a few pairings between automotive and sneaker brands have led to custom car models rather than (or in addition to) sneakers, mostly created as one-offs for promotional display, with some then sold to a single purchaser. In January 2023, Nissan and New Balance created a car that was termed a “drivable sneaker,” with most of the features from the shoemaker’s 327 silhouette—including a leather tongue, collar, shoelaces, and lace stay (all part of the top of the shoe) on the roof rack, New Balance logos on the sides, a black grille that looks like the shoe’s toe box, and details like stitching—integrated into the design. The car was displayed at Tokyo’s Aeon Mall in conjunction with a contest where fans could win pairs of New Balance 327s.

Bentley and Adidas’ Shoe Surgeon collaboration also included a one-of-a-kind Bentley x The Surgeon vehicle, which was shown during design week at Art Basil Miami in November 2022. The car was for sale and came with unique pair of sneakers (beyond the other collaborative shoes that were part of the initiative) that matched the design of the car.

And in 2022, a unique Ford GT featured a paint job that reflected the design of Nike’s first Air Jordan sneaker, in Nadal Red, black, and white. The car, based on the GT40 race car, was originally created as a custom-manufactured one-off designed for a Canadian owner. It will be included in RM Sotheby’s Dare to Dream luxury car auction on May 31 and June 1, 2024, where it is expected to sell for $900,000 to $1.2 million.

A reminder that Raugust Communications’ monthly e-newsletter comes out tomorrow, April 16, 2024. The Licensing Topic of the Month examines what can be learned from the current woes in luxury e-commerce, while the Datapoint research spotlight takes a look at licensing in the eyewear sector. If you are not yet a subscriber to this free publication, please sign up here.