Would You Actually Wear These New Tevas?

In recent years, Teva’s signature sandal style has gone out of fashion. This has led the company to attempt to reinvent itself by collaborating with different designers and putting out new styles in hopes to boost sales.

The brand’s latest Men’s Arrowood Evo WP style is a unique neoprene sneaker made of waterproof, breathable material. The lightweight shoe features a customizable strap and laceless design. It’s available in three colors — black, white, and gray — and retails for $135. However, it is a style exclusive to Japan.

The design is a distinct departure from styles the brand has released in the past. The sleek fit and shape of the Arrowood Evo WP style echoes the streamlined structure of sneakers that top designers like Nike and Adidas produce.

The Arrowood Evo WP isn’t the only interesting release for the company. Last month, Teva unveiled its new collaboration with Ugg. The collection consists of two styles, a casual sandal and a midcalf hybrid boot.

“Delivering quirky-cool hybrids that are designed to take on the urban trail, the Teva x UGG? collection comes from two brands that were born from the water and evolved in different directions, combining the legendary river utility of Teva and the surf-inspired beach-chic coastal ease of UGG?,” the brands said in a press release.

Teva is aware that many of its customers’ tastes have shifted. “Our customers are continuously evolving, and it is crucial that we, as a brand, grow alongside them,” said Lorie Pointer, director of product and design at Teva, in press release.

The company’s latest release comes at an interesting time considering many shoes that are considered “ugly” by the general public recently made a resurgence at fashion weeks. Top designer Christopher Kane made waves when he included Crocs in his London show last month, with many fashion critics up in arms about it.

“I knew people were going to react in that way, but it wasn’t about being controversial. The fact is Crocs is a huge, successful business on its own; they don’t need me to make them even more successful,” Kane said. “Obviously people do like them, and that’s a different customer that I want to grab. I want to include everyone and not be a snob.”

The New York City–based designer “You As” also featured Crocs in its menswear lookbook this season. Thaddeus O’Neill controversially included Uggs in his spring 2017 show at NYFW. Whether or not “classic” Teva styles make it to the runway remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to see how customers react to the shift for the brand.

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