After teasing the silhouette, Reebok officially launched the Zig Kinetica sneaker on Jan 13.
The Zig Kinetica is defined by a marriage between style and function, Reebok’s global product manager for Tech Style, Greg Korbas, told Sourcing Journal last year. Playing on Reebok’s roots as a performance-first sneaker and apparel brand, the Zig Kinetica is positioned to be “more forward-facing” and will work to reform the idea of what Reebok stands for at the consumer level, Korbas said.
The beginning of that process is to successfully integrate the brand’s ZigTech technology into a new silhouette. ZigTech, introduced in the 2010s, was one of Reebok’s signature product releases of the decade. However, the effectiveness of its energy return capabilities was sometimes lost on a sneaker crowd that was headed toward athleisure and sport-inspired styles and away from performance footwear.
Now, the Zig Kinetica’s design works to encase those features in a style that consumers will love regardless of its performance abilities.
“We saw an amazing response testing the Zig silhouette throughout 2019, collaborating with some of the biggest names in fashion,” Matt Blonder, vice president of marketing and digital brand commerce at Reebok, said. To execute its “biggest launch of 2020,” Reebok tapped Ultimate Fighting Championship star Conor McGregor, who is making his exciting “return to the UFC.”
“The launch of the Zig Kinetica is a watershed moment for Reebok as we look toward the future of this brand and cement ourselves as an industry leader, sitting directly at the intersection of sport and style,” Blonder added.
The Zig Kinetica’s unique energy return system is built around a three-pronged system. Floatride Fuel, Reebok’s proprietary midsole foam material, provides the bounce while the Zig Energy Shell that surrounds it helps to return kinetic energy lost in the midsole to the wearer. Finally, Zig Energy Bands can be found along the outsole, contracting and expanding to give the Zig Kinetica a “spring-like” response.
Perhaps most important, the features found therein are visible from the outside, giving the Zig Kinetica a unique, jagged aesthetic.
In October, Korbas told Sourcing Journal that Zig Kinetica line would be a “big, big, big, number one priority” for the brand in 2020. In 2019, Reebok released the $180 Concept_Type 1, a test release of the silhouette targeting the elevated sneaker enthusiast.
Zig Kinetica will drop around the world on Feb. 21 for $120 at retail.