Whereas many trainers in the present day boast a sock-like higher, a brand new day by day runner from the Italian efficiency model UYN (pronounced “win” and quick for “Unleash Your Nature”) options an higher that’s fairly actually a sock.
The UYN Alacrify is constructed out from a sock knitted in Italy with 100% pure fiber derived from eucalyptus timber. It’s not a portion of a sock however a totally shaped article that wraps across the entirety of your foot.
A second layer is focused on the sides, toe and heel to steadiness breathability and help, and there aren’t any extra elements essential for the lacing system, which is built-in straight into the knit. Connected to the underside of this sock higher then comes large dual-density midsole with a plate taking up an odd form with half of it trying like half of forceps.
Having launched in early August, Alacrify isn’t the primary operating shoe from UYN, which is best recognized for its base layers and launched its first runners in 2024. It’s, nonetheless, a serious step ahead for the Italian label looking for to create a reputation in operating footwear and increase its presence in the US.
The UYN Alacrify is out now a pink colorway, in addition to black and inexperienced.
“The Alacrify is a mix of the primary couple of trainers and discovering what labored finest,” Teri Ferguson Roth, North America gross sales director for UYN, instructed Footwear Information in a video name Friday. “This, to us, is our first actual operating shoe we really feel like we are able to go to market with and really feel assured about. And we’re excited to see the place it goes.”
UYN was based in 2018 by Trerè Innovation, an organization that began 65 years in the past by making, appropriately, socks. Its mission is to make efficiency gear out of pure supplies, which has led to it turning into the official clothing store of 10 nationwide ski groups, lots of that are among the many sport’s powerhouses, together with Austria, the Czech Republic, France, Italy and Slovenia.
A biking shoe marked UYN’s entry into footwear in 2021, and its slate now consists of fashions for on a regular basis put on and mountain climbing, as properly barefoot kinds.
The place to begin in growing the the Alacrify got here after it had recognized an absence of fashions designed to deal with uneven surfaces in avenue operating. Cement and asphalt are completely flat lengthy, so UYN labored with the College of Verona to develop stabilizing know-how whereas utilizing a treadmill that may slant in all instructions whereas a runner is on it.
Out of this got here a midsole made up of two completely different densities of EVA foam. A softer Propulsyon Foam varieties the forefoot and thins out because it reaches the heel, the place a better space is taken up by a extra agency and steady composition referred to as Freebound.
The UYN Alacrify options an higher knit out of a 100% pure eucalyptus-derived fiber.
Seen variations in texture tip off the 2 distinct foams, and likewise partly seen from the outside is the HALO System, a plate that’s stable on the forefoot and hallowed on the heel because it wraps across the edges like forceps, as soon as once more providing a mix of propulsion and stability, in addition to influence absorption. It isn’t made from carbon fiber such as you’d discover in a brilliant shoe, however somewhat a extra versatile TPU that makes it higher suited to a wider vary of runners.
On the TPU outsole you’ll discover patterns two sources of inspiration from the animal kingdom. The heel is formed just like the hoof of a horse, nature’s most steady climber, and the forefoot just like the horn of an ibex, nature’s finest climber total.
Nature’s biggest contribution to the Alacrify, although, is within the eucalyptus knit higher. Pulp from the tree is become a pure technical fiber brimming with options together with temperature regulation, moisture wicking, sturdiness and antimicrobial properties. A scarcity of seams eliminates potential spots that would irritate the foot, and the dearth of slicing and stitching additionally eliminates waste.
And since the higher is a sock somewhat than merely sock-like, you’ll be able to even put on the Alacrify with out one other pair of socks in your toes. Instantly beneath your toes, you’ll really feel an insole made out of hemp for a bit additional cushioning.
“One in all our mottos is ‘the consolation of the socks, the efficiency of the sneakers,’” Alacrify design lead Elia Redini stated. “So it’s for individuals who don’t need to have their toes squished, they need to have numerous freedom and numerous air.”
The Ibex-inspired sample on the forefoot of the UYN Alacrify outsole.
As of publishing, the UYN web site and Boston retailer are the one locations the place the Alacrify could be bought (for $179) within the US.. Discussions are in place to get the shoe into specialty retail shops, and the model additionally desires to lean into alternatives for runners to strive the sneakers themselves.
Throughout the Chicago Collective commerce present, UYN hosted a run with Heartbreak Operating Membership and was happy with the suggestions it acquired on the Alacrify. Ought to the Italian label present at The Operating Occasion in November, on which a choice hasn’t been made, Ferguson Roth raised the opportunity of internet hosting demonstrations with the rocketing treadmill that it used throughout growth.
UYN is already being forthright on an Alacrify 2.0 coming in 2026, suggesting a yearly iteration might progress even additional into the long run.
For now, it’s nonetheless early days on UYN footwear, which leaves open an incredible quantity of alternatives in its mission for nature-derived efficiency.
