Purge any thought that Hankook Tire has a monopoly when it comes to tie-ups between the tyre and fashion industries, even in the Korean Peninsula. Rival firm Nexen Tire is collaborating with French-born outdoor wear brand Eider to release four types of hiking shoes and boots. All feature soles containing tyre compounds.
Hankook Tire & Technology is collaborating with Korean sportswear brand Prospecs to release a series of running shoes with enhanced grip in wet and wintry conditions. Prospecs provides this extra traction by utilising the tread pattern from the Hankook Kinergy 4S2 all-season tyre on the trainers’ soles.
Hankook Tire is collaborating with Korean footwear brand Yase to launch a range of eco-friendly shoes made using recycled tyres. This ‘Zero – Leave Nothing Behind’ project offers those still too young to drive the opportunity to get to know Hankook Tire – the tyre maker expects the products will “resonate with customers who are early adopters and are conscious about the environment.”
The concept tyres and shoes that have so far resulted from Hankook Tire’s strategic partnership with outsole company Vibram are currently on display at the ISPO Munich show in Germany. Hankook is showing two off-road concept tyres at the sports-oriented exhibition, the DynaMIX and DynaSYNC.
Feet and wheels share the common function of helping us move about, and it shouldn’t then be surprising that tyre makers are interested in both. Continental has supplied Adidas with its rubber compounds for a number of years now, and Hankook recently shared news of its partnership with Vibram. Michelin also offers shoes as part of its Michelin Lifestyle range, and now it is taking the business a step further. The tyre maker is extending its 12 year old sports equiment partnership with Babolat and will team up with French tennis player Alizé Cornet for what it says is “a first in the tennis industry.”
The Frankfurt motor show has been a hotbed of announcement activity for Hankook Tire. In addition to an IAA launch of its Laufenn brand in Europe, news of original equipment tyre supply for the latest generation Audi A4 and the Volkswagen Touran, and the release of a lower rolling resistance Ventus S1 evo² and its fitment on the Mercedes-Benz C350e plug-in hybrid, the tyre maker has discussed its strategic partnership with shoe outsole company Vibram.
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