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Is Running the New Luxury? On’s Latest Sneaker Adds to the Argument

Pastime of the people or the sport of the elite? Today’s high-end running gear puts its own spin on performance.

green sneakersLoewe x On

By Jack Seemer

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Running’s long been a pastime of the people. If you ask some practitioners, you don’t even need shoes to do it.

But the sport’s inclusive nature means a lot of new runners on the roads. According to Strava’s “Year in Sport Trend Report,” the platform saw more than 120 million users in 2023, most of them runners. Gen Z is running twice as much as they’re riding bikes (a stat that’s reversed among Boomers). And the number of people completing marathons is up 20 percent.

Runner’s High

It’s not just the runners that are growing. It’s the brands, too — and few more quickly than On, which just posted close to $2 billion in sales in 2023. It did so by doubling down on apparel and hiring the Belgium fashion designer Tim Coppens to oversee that division.

three people running
It’s not just the number of runners growing. Brands are, too — and few more quickly than On, which just posted $2 billion in sales.
On

During a conference call with investors, On cofounder David Allemann said, “Sport is not just an activity. It’s a statement, a lifestyle and new luxury for a generation valuing movement and exploration over possession and status.”

“Sport is not just an activity. It’s a statement, a lifestyle.”

Allemann’s words provide a telling backdrop for the company latest drop in its ongoing collab with Spanish fashion label Loewe.

The new collection features a $1,150 hoodie, $1,450 puffer vest, $2,350 parka and a $550 version of the Cloudtilt shoe that normally retails for $160.

Shot by fashion photographer Ryan McGinley, the campaign for the collection features tennis star Ben Shelton, Olympian Alexandra Burghardt and the runners Masato Yokata, Aaliyah Miller, Mario Garcia Romo and Sintayehu Vissa.

man standing on a rock in the desert
The campaign for the new On x Loewe collab was shot by fashion photographer Ryan McGinley.
Loewe

Fast Fashion

Of course, On’s far from the first brand to question just how much some shoppers will spend to call themselves runners. The french label Satisfy sells a cotton muscle tee with holes in it, framed as a functional insulation feature called MothTech. It retails for $140.

The big guns are in on it, too. Since the advent of the super shoe, runners of all levels have burned holes in their short pockets to run in highly exclusive racers with carbon fiber plates and state-of-the-art foams from Nike, Adidas and more.

The Nike Alphafly 3, worn by the late Kelvin Kiptum to set a men’s world record time of 2:00:35 in the marathon, retails for $285. Meanwhile, the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 — worn by the two fastest women in history, Peres Jepchirchir and Tigist Assefa — went for a whopping $500 at the time of its release.

Though only 521 pairs were available, the Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 sold out immediately, despite Adidas’s claims that it could only stand up to a single marathon distance.

adidas adizero adios pro evo 1
The Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1 is one of the fastest running shoes in history. Retailing for $500, it’s also one of the most expensive.
Adidas

And why not? Runners are on the rise and they’re showing no signs of slowing down, with workouts or their wallets. After all, not everyone is game to go barefoot — that trend was so 2011, anyway.

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