CRYOS
Created in 2018, The Cryos collection is a high-end product collection consisting of apparel, accessories, and footwear. All product offerings are rooted in being “Best In” products. Best in performance, best in manufacturing, and best in materials. The footwear designs were constructed in Italy within the factory of Diemme. I worked alongside the factory development team to design and build a collection of boots inspired from aesthetics of 70’s mountaineering footwear. This collection also required visits to Italian last makers to dial in the look and feel, as well as traveling to the Italian Vibram offices to determine which outsole would best serve the function and intent. The Cryos collection is a premium offering that is composed of both Men’s and Women’s styles.
Inspiration
“How does The North Face create an elevated product collection that is focused around the best technologies and materials with progressive styling while being designed to live in the lifestyle space?” The answer to this question is, “The Cryos Collection”. The Cryos Collection is a collection of apparel, accessories, and footwear silhouettes that will highlight the best of the brand. This best product offering is from a technical and functional perspective. The Cryos collection addresses the best in class from material selection, construction methods, and colorway to capture and deliver a premium lifestyle collection.
Initial Exploration
In order to create a completely new collection of premium lifestyle footwear, guidelines around the visual aesthetics, functionality, and brand connectivity needed to be created. This guide would establish rules to follow for these new silhouettes in order to create cohesion and unify details that make the entire collection recognizable as a “Cryos” item.
Direction Refinement
Looking at early designs and silhouettes of mountaineering boots from the 60’s and 70’s while questioning, “How can this product be improved upon?” was the starting point. Creating a collection of boots that looked visually familiar and strike a feeling of nostalgia but are actually totally new in look and feel was the goal. The updating of classic aesthetics, that were originally designed and intended for the mountainside, now would live and function within the urban environment.
Direction Finalization
The thought behind the early design concepts was to create a silhouette or two that would pay homage to early mountaineering boots but with updated performance and functionality. Looking at bold patterning and iconic styling, such as, oversized padded collars and stacked midsoles, in combination with molded hardware, completed the look and feel of the concepts.
Market Release
The final footwear offering for the Cryos collection was a total of six silhouettes, all of which were manufactured in Italy with the factory partners, Diemme. There are six styles, consisting of three men and three womens patterns. All styles were released over the span of two years. The entire Cryos collection was made of premium articles and possessed waterproof bootie construction. In addition to the use of best in class materials, all patterns within the collection shared the same protective rubber mudguard, molded tpu heel clip, and Vibram tooling.
