New Balance teamed up with medical apparel company FIGS to create a two medical footwear styles for women and one for men, specifically to serve the needs of the healthcare community. While high-performance footwear designs are often first and foremost developed for athletic pursuits, there are plenty of medical professionals, residents and students who would also benefit from comfortable solutions for being on their feet all day.
The partnership is introducing the FIGS x New Balance 996 style for both men and women in black and gray, as well as an extra navy color for women. From the collaborators, there is also the 574S style with reflective details, water-resistant components and midsoles that provide extra support.
What's Driving This Trend
- Medical Footwear Collaboration
- Collaborations in footwear design between medical apparel companies and athletic brands offer disruptive innovation in providing better function and comfort for medical professionals.
- Specialized Footwear for Professionals
- Developing specialized footwear designs to meet the needs of specific professions, such as medical professionals, offers disruptive innovation for creating new market opportunities and improving end-user experiences.
- Performance Footwear for Non-athletic Needs
- Creating performance footwear designs for non-athletic needs, such as healthcare and other professional industries, offers disruptive innovation for expanding market opportunities and improving occupational health.
Who This Affects Most
- Medical Apparel
- Developing collaborations between medical apparel companies and footwear brands offers disruptive innovation in providing better function and comfort for medical professionals.
- Athletic Footwear
- Expanding targeted footwear designs to meet the needs of specific professions offers disruptive innovation for creating new market opportunities and improving end-user experiences.
- Professional Footwear
- Creating performance footwear designs for non-athletic needs, such as healthcare and other professional industries, offers disruptive innovation for expanding market opportunities and improving occupational health.
