PAF x On AW24: Sleek, Scientific Gear for Winter Runs
On is very picky about its collaborators.
For instance, did you know that it was tennis icon Roger Federer that initially approached them? It's a conversation which led to him taking a 3 per cent ownership stake in the company and, in turn, encouraged them to start a tennis line.
Same goes for leading Irish designer Jonathan Anderson who was looking to strike a deal for Spanish fashion house Loewe, his current employer.
The team were “not immediately convinced,” about either, discovered our savvy Style Director Johnny Davis on his fairly recent trip to its Swiss headquarters.
Which makes its partnership with Post Archive Fashion, a six-year-old independent brand from South Korea ultra fascinating, don't you think?
Since the launch of PAF x On in spring, the former has been deconstructing then reconstructing the latter's designs to create avant-garde running gear.
The inaugural drop named “Current Form 1.0” consisted of all-gender equipment for road running – the star offering being a Cloudmonster 2 refashioned by PAF via seamless layers and a monochrome palette.
Current Form 2.0, which just dropped this morning, is described by On as shifting “the focus from road to trail, and from sun to snow” – a weather condition that the PAF team (in Seoul) and the On team (in Zurich) are no strangers to.
To effectively accomplish the aim, a new crep was conceived: the Cloudventure Peak. The sleek silhouette is complete with a newly developed Missiongrip outsole that sees a sticky layer partner up with Zero Gravity Foam (an integral element of all of the brand's 'cloud' shoes). This marriage of technologies helps the wearer stay secure whilst running down hill or tackling uneven land.
PAF has also revisited its tidy interpretation of the Cloudmonster 2 for daily runs, as people still do those in winter (all interpretations welcome: I wear mine for my daily matcha run).
This comes in “seedling white”.
The Cloudventure arrives in “all black” and “cacao/espresso”.
The clothes – yes, there are some! – come in similar colours.
The idea, according to On, is to reduce psychological stress by helping “runners achieve a state of flow”.
As for the anomaly, the almost-hi-vis-yellow “hay”, it serves “as a metaphor for illumination and inspiration on the trails”.
Which brings us to why the PAF x On collab makes total sense: they both create with purpose.
In other words: they're science buddies.
The Post Archive Fashion x On Current Form 2.0. collection is available now on the On webstore and at select retailers, including Offspring.
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