By Mark Seavy

Brand owners are focused on casual footwear, using brand licensing and collaborations to bring together fashion and function.

And while the designs are not entirely new, the speed at which they are being introduced—along with the growing spotlight on licensing—is. This constant demand for new styles and fits is being seen across multiple product categories, with footwear trends becoming as fleeting as apparel.

VF Corp.’s Van’s brand, best known as the skateboard/punk rock brand of choice, has paired up with the likes of Gucci and Louis Vuitton as well as launching a collaboration with Japanese streetwear brand A Bathing Ape (BAPE) on July 15. The company has also taken a more musical bent with Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.

Then there is former Nike, New Balance, and Yeezy footwear designer Steven Smith, who joined the Crocs brand last year. He helped produce a new Crocs “Ripple” clog as well as the Stride S “Dad Shoe” for its affiliate brand Hey Dude, which was introduced at the Home Depot in New York City.

“We leveraged Home Depot to launch the ultimate dad shoe,” said Crocs CEO Andrew Rees, whose company’s core brand crossed the $1-billion sales mark in quarterly revenue for the first time, while Hey Dude revenue was down 6% at $179 million. “Looking forward, we plan to build on this [dad shoe] launch to introduce a broader range of sneakers and casual footwear.”

Even Birkenstock, the ultimate purveyor of casual footwear with contoured footbed cork sandals, is expanding with wedding shoes and a new launch with South Korean label Ader Error, which is part of its premium high-end fashion 1774 clog line that features collaborations with luxury designers.

Perhaps the greatest indication of a more casual approach to footwear came from Weyco Group’s Florsheim Shoes, long-time purveyor of men’s dress shoes. While the “return-to-office” trend is continuing, Florsheim is “investing heavily” in comfort footwear and that includes borrowing their features for dress shoes, Weyco President John Florsheim told Footwear News.

“For spring 2027, we are focused on relaxed casual footwear with elevated materials, refined details, and easy comfort consumers want during the warmer months,” Florsheim said.

That trend of finding comfort in footwear comes as retailers take a more conservative approach in placing orders amid tighter consumer spending.

While footwear suppliers aren’t faced with as much tariff-related pressure as a year ago, the industry’s ability to pass on costs to retailers and consumers is “pretty much gone at this point,” said Matt Priest, President of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA). That issue is due in part due to rising oil prices on footwear manufacturing. Key ingredients in shoes, from foam and synthetics to plastics, are derived from petroleum.

“As we look at the consumer landscape that our wholesale partners are dealing with, I think we are planning the business relatively conservatively,” Crocs’ Rees said. “When they have product that is working, they are proactive in terms of chasing [inventory]. We are prudent relative to a consumer landscape that remains a bit uncertain.”

The uncertainty can partially be seen in mergers and acquisitions within the footwear-related industry, five of which have occurred since March, not including Gordon Brothers’ purchase of Chinese laundry, according to investment banking firm Capstone Partners.

Among the highest profile transactions was the $39-million sale of Allbirds to American Exchange Group and brand management and licensing firm WSG Group. WSG also purchased the trucker hat/streetwear Von Dutch label from Groupe Royer.

These factors—including the mergers and acquisitions as well as the growing focus on more casual footwear offerings—are occurring amid the growing adoption of weight loss drugs, consumers making health and wellness a priority, casual dress codes, and an increase in athleisure apparel sales, all of which have triggered wardrobe refreshes and activewear spending, according to Capstone.