HOKA's Unbreakable Rule? They Refuse to Make Toy Shoes.

Hoka didn't chase fashion. Fashion chased Hoka.In 2016, Kiko, a Central Saint Martins graduate sent Hoka shoes down a runway and a performance running brand accidentally walked into the lifestyle world.

A decade later, Hoka sits at fashion week in Paris and at the starting line of Western States on the same weekend.

How?

I sat down with Travis Cykana and Thomas Wiseman from Hoka's product and collaborations team in Paris to understand the brand's unbreakable rule: every shoe (even the lifestyle ones) has to perform.

They walk me through the archive-driven design philosophy that resurrected the Speedgoat 2, the "fewer but better" approach to collaborations with partners like Beams, UNNA, and Haven, and why they'll never make what they call "toy shoes."

Presented by Kiprun bit.ly/kiprun_yt
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