Embedding High-Performance Technology In Everyday AHNU Sneakers

New sneaker brand AHNU, born from Jean-Luc Diard, HOKA co-founder and current Deckers’ innovation lead consultant, isn’t about technology. But at the same time, AHNU is all about technology.

From the outside, the Sequence 1.1 from AHNU, which has a new suede version debuting Feb. 11, has a classic, timeless lifestyle aesthetic. That’s on purpose. It’s meant to fit into a wide array of uses as a consumer’s new everyday sneaker. On the inside, though, there’s enough technology (think carbon fiber plate and premium running super foam), tuned specifically to the everyday use that Diard tells me he thinks it will keep wearers coming back to AHNU, choosing the super sneaker for the comfort, feel and experience while adapting it to a variety of occasions.

The creation of AHNU about a year ago fits a specific need, a void that had opened in the footwear market. And as Diard points out, nature loves to fill a void.

Diard tells me the vision of AHNU began as the performance running shoe category and the casual shoe category continue to divert from one another. That has left a gap where footwear technology had rapidly evolved, but the sneaker (think: the casual shoe not used for specific performance uses) was left in this space void of the technology many wearers know during workouts.

“Can we create a super sneaker? Let’s have a brand that is dedicated to that, so it is the point of focus,” Diard says. “That is the way that AHNU came to life. We see this opportunity, let’s dedicate a brand to it.”

Defining a sneaker as a casual-use product—and one that owns about one-third of the entire footwear market, Diard says—has two sub-groups typically making up the bulk of the sneaker market. One is typically derived from running shoes, known as an athleisure sneaker. It is basically a running shoe with tamed-down colors. The second equally large category is a lifestyle sneaker derived from basketball, skate or court sports (tennis, for example), but often lacking the technology that makes them suitable for modern-day performance.

“Sneakers are essentially your daily shoes,” Diard says. “They take over your commute, over your weekend, sometimes over the office. Most of the time they are more casual.”

The gap, though, was in the technology. Diard says COVID accelerated the footwear industry, pushing people to buy new trainers and running shoes for fitness. Many consumers started to experience technologies they didn’t know about before. And when they went back to a casual sneaker, they noticed the gap. “A couple of years ago, you didn’t think about it,” he says. “Now you think about it.”

AHNU, then, takes the heightened technology found in modern-day running shoes and tunes it for daily experiences, such as walking. He likens it to the idea of a sports car’s attributes getting refined for use in everyday driving.

To get the same level of cushioning, but not something that was too bouncy, was about using the running super foam TPU that had entered the market but created in a way that compresses and rebounds more gradually. The rocker shape exists in AHNU, but more nuanced than a running shoe to ensure fluidity of movement, but not with the aggressive style needed in running. “The load is very different, and the frequency is very different,” Diard says about the 1.5x to 2x body weight placed on a shoe when walking versus that 2x up to even 5x or 6x in running. “You still want the same fluidity. You ask for some of the characteristics of the TPU super foams, but not as aggressive.”

The same is in the carbon-fiber plate. AHNU has a plate tuned for movement so a wearer wouldn’t feel it, but it still creates an ease in walking. “There is a notion of creating a super sneaker tuned for when you walk, where we can bring you much more comfort,” he says, noting that some everyday wearers log many hours in one pair of shoes during a workday. “That is where the performance is. When you get back home you shouldn’t have your knee or back hurt.”

With the performance dialed to the everyday use, Diard says the other part of the creation comes in making something you don’t even think about, akin to your favorite pair of jeans or hoodie. He says the style must be timeless, sophisticated but neutral at the same time. “At a distance it should look very simple,” he says. “As you get closer, you start to look at things. At a distance, you see this as a classical suede sneaker, and you notice a little rocker. At a distance it is classic.”

As you get nearer, you notice the outsole isn’t rubber but is thinner and more flexible. The midsole looks vulcanized, but it is a super-critical TPU foam with a carbon plate embedded in without any advertisement of it. There’s a laser-cut super-foam insole, a seem design that allows it to be worn barefoot and a naturally breathable design to match. The suede is a high-end version meant to feel good against the foot and provide lightweight durability.

Diard says having a super sneaker in a consumer’s quiver of footwear options allows versatility, covering a wealth of situations. “This is something that can give you more flexibility,” he says. “That is where we want to give people an elevated level of experience that makes it your favorite.”

AHNU, Diard says, aims to have a bit of elegance that makes the shoe usable in a variety of situations.

AHNU first launched selectively about a year ago. And even now AHNU isn’t fully built out. “There is no immediate rush to say this has to grow,” he says. “It is about being very qualitative.” Diard wants to really fine-tune the product before scaling. He says that once the base is built well, they can really grow on that with a variety of uppers, materials for different seasons, varying cuts and a range of price points. First, though, comes getting that base right.

“How long does it take to make sure you are dialed in? That is what the market will tell us,” Diard says. “You first do that, and then when you have something that people have a good experience with word of mouth starts to spread and there is nothing better than that, getting to experience it.”