Amongst the cobbled streets and pastel-colored buildings of the picturesque mountain town of Annecy, France, is a lab — the S/Lab — where Salomon cooks up its most tech-forward products. Today, Salomon revealed the latest concoction to emerge from the lab: ME:sh. Simply put, ME:sh is a shoe. But it’s also the product of almost 10 years of ideation and design. And it’s fully customizable. Actually, there really is no “simply put” when it comes to ME:sh.
ME:sh was born out of a request from trail runner Kilian Jornet to Salomon’s Footwear R&D team for a pair of shoes designed specifically to match the anatomy of his feet. That was back in 2008. Now, you don’t have to be an ultramarathon runner or hold the fastest ascents and descents of Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and Denali to get some ME:sh custom runners from S/Lab.
In order to produce the perfect fit, Salomon simplified what a shoe is meant for (anatomical biomechanics, transportation through local environments, aesthetics) and what a shoe is (ME:sh is built from 12 components instead of the average 50). The Twinskin upper is woven using a 3D knit technique; the lower is built according to the consumer’s drop, cushioning, and outsole specifications; and the two are then joined manually. ME:sh will be available in four different models, including the fully custom Unique To Me model, location-specific Unique to Community models, and two Kilian Jornet models.
The catch? Customization on this level requires your in-person presence, and right now that means you’ll have to travel to one of the eight retailers in France or one in Belgium to get your feet into a pair. But hey, the most hands-on running shoe customization experience ever might be just the thing to round out your European summer vacation.
ME:sh Pricing
Unique to Me: ~$327
Unique to Community: ~$251
Kilian Jornet Red: ~$251
Kilian Jornet Black: ~$262
