The quest for increased comfort

Froggie Brand Manager, Sarah Gedye, has her say…

For a while now, I have been concerned that our shoes needed some increased comfort … I don’t know if its my age or could it be that we are all so used to wearing ultra-comfortable, light, stretchy, cushioned amazing footwear – like the ones Nike and Sketchers make, that I find our shoes just don’t seem as comfortable as they once were.

I have been driving our design and technical teams crazy talking about getting the “ahhh” factor into our shoes, but it’s not so easy with the way our shoes are manufactured. Say we had to adjust the below court shoe to sport the current comfort standards … For example, if we put very stretchy material on the top (the upper), memory foam cushioning underneath and then added ultra-light EVA soles, the shoes would just not stay on the foot …

Instead, the foot would squash down making the cavity bigger, effectively creating a shoe for a much wider foot. You would slip around in the shoe and as you take a step, the shoe would likely get left behind. Plus a stretchy upper would make the shoe even more loose and your toes would push the shoe all out of shape – not an attractive look!

So, how to increase comfort but not compromise the look of the shoes?

We have fitted a thermo-plastic rubber sole which has flex and movement when walking. We have started using a memory foam that has luxurious extra cushioning underfoot. Last but not least, to support the heel, we have changed to a soft micro-fiber lining and have added a thin memory foam in between the lining and the outer layer of leather.

These new features will be included in all our winter 2020 shoes.

I think its made a big difference to the increased comfort of our shoes, getting us closer to the “ahhh” factor.