Earlier this week, Heikki Salonen was named the first creative director of Salomon, following a 12-year tenure at MM6 Maison Margiela. He is joined by a familiar collaborator in Laura Herbst, who steps into the role of studio director after previous stints at MM6 Maison Margiela and Céline. For Salomon, a brand rooted in performance since its founding in the 1940s, some wondered whether the appointments signaled a shift in focus for the French label. Its emergence as a go-to for fashion-conscious consumers is well documented. From its introduction on the runway at Boris Bidjan Saberi’s Spring/Summer 2017 “Post Humanism” show to becoming a defining footwear brand for the gorpcore movement at the turn of the decade, Salomon has built two distinct audiences: those driven by performance and those drawn to fashion.

From the outside, the move could read as a pivot. From the inside, it’s about consolidation. Our conversation with Salonen and the Salomon team below clarifies that this is not a move in a new direction, but a unification that doubles down on delivering performance across everything the brand presents.

With Heikki’s appointment, should we expect a push toward entirely new Salomon footwear models, or a deeper exploration of the brand’s archives?

Heikki isn’t here to choose between innovation and heritage — he’s here to reconnect them through performance credibility. You should expect new product expressions driven by sport and usage, alongside selective reinterpretations of iconic franchises when they still solve a real need today. The filter is simple: function first, athlete/usage validation, and modern relevance.

Given his background at MM6, how does Heikki envision the evolution of the MM6 × Salomon partnership?

The MM6 x Salomon partnership remains a focused collaboration with its own creative lane and governance. Heikki’s appointment doesn’t change the agreement or the ambition currently in place — the collaboration continues as planned, rooted in mutual respect and a shared interest in pushing design language. More broadly, we’ll keep exploring partnerships that challenge our perspective, while staying true to Salomon’s performance DNA.

How does Salomon plan to balance performance DNA with lifestyle demand?

Performance is not one pillar among others — it’s the source. Our approach is not to dilute performance, but to translate it into modern mountain sports lifestyle. We start from sport, terrain, and usage; then we evolve that into design, culture, and everyday relevance, never the other way around. When the product is truly credible in the mountains, people naturally bring it into the city.

Beyond product, how does Heikki imagine elevating the Salomon brand experience?

Heikki’s scope goes beyond designing products, it’s about strengthening the total Salomon experience. That means aligning product design, retail expression, campaigns, and activations around one clear creative vision of modern mountain sports culture. The goal is consistency: when someone meets Salomon, through an athlete, a store, a collaboration, or a campaign, it should feel like the same brand, with the same performance credibility.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by HYPEBEAST Kicks (@hypebeastkicks)