For our most recent endeavour with Finnish brand Karhu, we took a deep dive into their archives in search of hidden treasures… 

We explored the vast array of nature that surrounds us here in the UK, to elevate our campaign. Taking a trip to the Isle of Skye our mission was to bring a strong visual experience that highlights the product and the heritage model our collaboration is inspired by.

Known for its varied landscape, the Isle of Skye is located on the west coast of Scotland and is a site of magnificent beauty. Pairing Skye’s aesthetics, with the collaborative over-garments creates a stylistic viewpoint on how to wear the apparel and the settings that they can be utilised within – helping us shape the heritable story the footwear shares with Karhu. 

Whether it’s through camping or general exploring, this visual guide looks to create a holistic insight into the things we find right under our noses, whilst at the same time, exploring the lesser known expansive back catalog of Karhu. 

Footpatrol & KARHU join forces on their third collaborative project working on the KARHU Fusion 2.0 silhouette.

With a long lineage and variety of products, Footpatrol took a deep dive into the KARHU archives in search of hidden treasures… They stumbled across the 1980s KARHU Snow boot, dubbed the ‘Snowstar’. The Snowstar boot was KARHU’s answer to warm running shoes for fitness enthusiasts for winter use, compiled of durable nylon material with split leather reinforcements, quick lacing system and a snow lock concealed within its velcro fastened shroud.

Taking inspiration from the Snowstar silhouette, Footpatrol have created a modernised, city-equivalent runner using the Fusion 2.0 model as the template, making the model a more durable, easy to wear offering equipped for today’s current trends.

Adding a mix of water repellent nylon material, smooth nubuck, rubberised panels and OG branding, this pair is Footpatrol’s vision of a hard-wearing city runner that keeps its inspiration firmly imprinted into the snow, as did its predecessor, the Snowstar boot. 

Our main source of inspiration for the tracksuit design was military inspired with an outdoor hiking theme. Rather than a traditional nylon shell tracksuit, on this occasion, we wanted to produce a multi-purpose garment. For this part of our collaboration, we enlisted the design expertise of SSSU brand founder Sasu Kauppi once more, to help bring our ideation into wearable garments. A few back-and-forth emails and a couple conference calls later, the result came in form of a two-piece offering – an over pant & half-zip anorak style jacket that could be worn over the wearer’s garments. 

The tracksuit construction consists of a durable Cotton Ripstop material with a water-resistant coating added to assist in keeping the wearer dry during harsh weather. The anorak jacket features a half-zip detail for easy pull over entry, with double needle top stitching is applied referencing military garments. Side pockets with a snap button closure are also added, with elasticated cuffs on the wrist and waist band (with drawcord details added to each side). A custom logo lock-up borrowing design elements from all three-brand logos sits beneath the anorak zipper. A final design detail we were imminent on including was a way to easily store the jacket. Our solution for this was to add a packable pocket to the back of the anorak complete with shoulder strap so the jacket can be packed into itself in the shape of a crossbody style bag. 

Continuing with the military inspiration, the over pant features the same double needle top stitching details, drawcord function on the waistband and ankle cuff so wearer can choose between straight or tapered ankle cuffs. Pleats have been added below & above the knee to add articulation to the garment. We included a double pocket construction to the side pockets. The entry of the pocket with the snap button & zipper closure is for the wearer to have access to their pockets on any pants worn underneath the over pant. The second pocket acts more of a traditional style pocket on the over pant. Finally, we added one more patch pocket with flap and snap button closure to the backside of the pant. This pocket features the tri-brand lock-up logo. 

Find the Footpatrol x Karhu Fusion 2.0 ‘Snowstar’ and tracksuit (sold as top and bottoms) will be launching in-store and online on 30.09.23 (Available online from 08:00AM BST), priced between £135 – £165.