Establishing themselves in 1947, Salomon has been one of the leading outdoor sportswear brands to have graced the market. With a passion for technical enhancements and craftsmanship Salomon product is used and made for the hardest terrains in the world. 

For the brands first time ever, they opened their doors and invited Footpatrol over to Annecy, France to Salomon HQ to meet some of the brands leading designers and visit their prototype workshop to find out exactly how Salomon has become one of the world’s leading Outdoor brands. 

Worlds away from the streets of Soho, London, we landed in Annecy, France and what greeted us was picturesque vision of perfection. For a brand like Salomon, you couldn’t have pictured a more perfect location to house a their design centre. With an almost glass like lake and mountains surrounding, it seemed like they had the perfect testing grounds on their doorstep.

We had the opportunity to meet Salomon Head of Service to Athletes, Patrick Leick who has worked at the brand for over 30 years. Patrick is the instigator and concept creator of the XT series, developed the Quick Lace and even designed Killian Jornet’s Mount Everest Climbing boot which help set the world record for the fast descent down the world largest peak. 

It doesn’t stop there! 

Salomon hasn’t gone unnoticed within the sneaker/lifestyle world with the new found success of the XT-6. With this success it was only right that we also sat down with Benjamin, Design Manager for Salomon and designer of the beloved Salomon S/Lab XT-6 to talk about his journey with the brand and his thought process behind the design. 

During the visit there was no evidence that Salomon showed any signs of slowing down within the lifestyle market,  who can blame them. With the growing success with the brands XT series, we are excited to see more from the brand in 2020!

Check out the video below to hear our interviews with both Patrick and Benjamin!

Click here to shop the latest Salomon styles available online now!