“But there are still tens of millions of people out there who are runners who do want those types of shoes, and increasingly want unique brands that others don’t have.”On, he said, is catering to that crowd.
Conventional wisdom would suggest a sneaker with Federer’s name on it might be of the performance variety—one we’d hopefully see him wearing on the court next summer. You may not recognize the name immediately (Googling it can be tricky) but you may recognize its cult range of Cloud shoes, which feature an “On” light switch logo, a little Swiss flag and an odd-looking multi-globular cushioned rubber sole. “It’s pretty clear it wants to be more than a niche running brand.”“Sometimes, as an athlete of a certain age, you can feel like a falling star,” Mr. Federer said. “I wanted to make sure we could integrate On’s same technology into a street shoe,” Federer explained. But why shouldn’t your go-to shoe—the one you might spend most of your time wearing—be just as comfortable and considered? “The first version Roger tried out was really bulky, because we were trying to reinvent a sneaker,” On’s cofounder David Allemann explained.
Then, pulling on a burnt orange pair with terra cotta laces and distinctive hollow little pods that ran the length of the soles, he acknowledged that that was probably a conservative estimate, given all the shoes he has from past matches. In their place are sports lifestyle shoes — sports-inspired or fashion-forward sneakers that are not intended for sports use — which are set to become the largest footwear category in the United States, according to Matt Powell, a senior industry adviser on sports for NPD, said that, for now at least, On appears to be bucking that trend.“Many people are no longer in need of expensive and highly technical sneakers — they just want to look good,” Mr. Powell said. Reaktive Traktion, unerreichte Dämpfung. “If you’re making a technical sneaker, you can’t compromise on performance, but how can you make it fully sustainable?” he asked. Mr. Federer had originally met the On founders over dinner two years ago, several years after he had first noticed how many people in Switzerland were wearing their shoes.“They were impossible to ignore because everyone had them, people on the street, my friends, my wife,” he said. Roger Federer is setting up a second careen in sneakers with On, following his departure from Nike. “How to connect with fans across cultures. That’s because Mr. Federer has something of a sneaker fixationThe Swiss tennis champion is not an “obsessive,” he said (slightly hard to believe about someone who has won 20 Grand Slam trophies), but still he is “always looking at other people’s feet in airports.” Earlier this month, when Mr. Federer was in London to play in the ATP Finals, he said in an interview that he owns at least 250 pairs of sneakers. For nearly as long, he has defied their expectations. The country “is known for money and for passion but not always for innovation,” said Caspar Coppetti, a founder of On.
But in Germany, the Cloud has become the second most-sold sneaker after Nike’s Air Max 270, according to NPD, a research firm; in America, now On’s largest market, increasingly the shoes are a mainstay of gym floors on the East and West coasts.
(He is building his familyFederer-designed products are already in the pipeline for next year, and he will represent the brand publicly, though he also ticked off other responsibilities.“Brand building and global marketing,” he said. Lately, however, despite stressing that he is far from finished playing, Mr. Federer has started to talk more openly about what comes next. Mr. Federer, 38, would go on to lose the ATP semifinals, to the eventual winner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, a 21-year-old born the same year Mr. Federer played his first professional tennis game.
“But the signature On aesthetic — which is very design forward — has also appealed to tastemakers from the sneaker community,” he said.
The Roger is On’s second lifestyle shoe, following the sold-out These sneakers aren’t meant for running. Switzerland, birthplace of both Mr. Federer and On, is often associated with fine chocolate, luxury watches and private bankers. “We said, let’s use today’s technology so they’re actually comfortable.”The challenge was to incorporate those cushy soles and technical tweaks without adding heft. You can get a glimpse in the Juergen Teller photo above and by tuning into The latest fashion news, beauty coverage, celebrity style, fashion week updates, culture reviews, and videos on Vogue.com.A daily recap of the biggest runway news, latest trends, and emerging designers. Even before anything was signed by him or his longtime agent Tony Godsick, Mr. Federer said, he had been going to the On office every time he was in Zurich to give feedback on product colors and cuts, growth ideas and marketing. Allemann believes the trend toward comfort and function has been accelerated by the pandemic: “Performance used to borrow from fashion, but we’re now in a moment where fashion is borrowing from performance,” he said. When he joined On as an entrepreneur, Roger became a close partner to our founders and the On team. That’s because Mr. Federer has something of a sneaker fixation. Allemann, left, discussing a shoe’s features with a designer. Federer’s new sneaker for On, dubbed The Roger Photo: Courtesy of On . “You can almost feel your image and success fading.”In the past, he said, he never used to want to dwell on life after tennis. Roger Federer, a self-confessed sneakerhead, has invested in Swiss sneaker brand On, traditionally a performance running brand. Fashion figures like J.W. Pundits have been predicting Mr. Federer’s retirement for almost a decade. Anderson wear Clouds; so do Hollywood types like Will Smith, John Malkovich and Emma Stone (the company said it does not pay people to wear its products).
“That’s what everyone in the market is working on.