From the Show Floor: Outdoor Retailer Recap
BY DEBRA COBB • JANUARY 15, 2016 • TRENDS
Hot Socks
Winter footwear would not be complete without warm, cozy socks. Made-in-America brands dominated this category, from Farm to Feet to Fox River to Darn Tough Vermont. While merino wool ruled, new synthetics offered interesting benefits, particularly in the compression category.
Colorful graphic patterns proliferated, and digital or sublimation prints enabled patterns that were too complex to knit. With 13 styles and 50 options, Fox River’s merino AXT crossover collection was the most extensive.
Farm to Feet tapped into the mis-matched trend with its Hampton sock for women; the right and left have patterns that coordinate, but do not match. The company’s Damascus hike sock has transitioned to its Hunt collection; the new version is a bit thicker, warmer, and more durable, with an airflow instep and air chamber that runs up the calf.
Starting in February, the Damascus Elite and light weight Greensboro sport sock will be knit in a 19.5µ American-grown merino wool. Dave Petri, Farm to Feet vice president of marketing, explained, “The 19.5 micron wool allowed us create a sock with an extremely high wool content and enhanced durability. You feel the quality and softness of these socks as soon as you put them on.”
Lorpen’s new TR2 sock featured a high-tech blend of merino wool with PrimaLoft fiber. The hydrophobic, micro-polyester fiber (also used for insulation) is spun with merino wool to keep the foot both warm and dry.
CEP Compression chose Emana yarn, a high-performance nylon embedded with bioactive minerals, for its Ski Ultralight socks. The Emana fiber reflects the far infrared rays generated by the body, providing warmth and enhancing circulation.
While the latest footwear products are highly technical, the average consumer may not be making full use of the benefits—but wants them anyway. At an OR seminar on sports and outdoor trends, Matt Powell, The NPD Group vice president of industry analysis sports and leisure trends, told the audience, “The outside consumer seeks comfort, not extreme conditions. They’re seeking ‘good enough’ for moderate use.”
Perhaps it’s the cool factor consumers are responding to. Winter 2016 footwear has it in abundance.
Circulation: 3,975
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