When it was founded in 2017, the shoe brand Kizik was on a mission to bring hands-free shoe technology into the mainstream. It’s now taking two big steps to further that goal.
The company is today announcing both a major partnership with New Balance and a new shoe, the $149.95 Kizik Freedom Run, which debuts on April 17. Together, the moves represent an expansion of its existing licensing agreements strategy and of its tech into the performance category for the first time.
At its core, Kizik’s tech has always focused on the experience of putting on a shoe in the first place—the company designs slip-on models that cut lace-tying out of the equation through a variety of patented hands-free footwear mechanics. These designs are accessible to those who have trouble tying their shoes, including children, the elderly, and those with disabilities.
But the brand has broad ambitions. “We think of the problem this way: Our shoes are for everyone, but they are life-changing for some,” then-CEO Monte Deere explained to Fast Company in 2023. Entering the running space meant the company had to adapt its designs for higher intensity use cases, but it also expands its reach.
Kizik can build brand association with its own technology, and jockey for market share among slip-on running shoes that are already on the market: Its ongoing collaborator, Nike, launched a pair in 2021, On manufactures a line of athletic shoes with kick-down heels, and Skechers has a whole series of shoes in its “Slip-Ins” category.
How Kizik designed its first-ever slip-on running shoe
The Freedom Run is Kizik’s latest demonstration of its design prowess.
The brand’s in-house team, HandsFree Lab, manages more than 200 issued and pending patents related to hands-free footwear mechanics, from extra-pliable tongues to shoes that open with a squeeze and multiple different heel configurations that allow wearers to simply slide their foot into the shoe.
As its first foray into performance, Kizik’s design team decided to start with a mid-market running shoe that would be accessible for most athletes. The Freedom Run isn’t an elite game-day shoe, but rather a reliable training shoe that’s built to last.
