Harrys London is upping the feel-good factor in its shoes with the launch a new comfort technology embedded into its latest loafer.
Previewed to buyers and press for the first time during Paris Fashion Week Men’s late last month, Harrys will be launching the new loafer, called the Harley, at retail early next year.
According to Harrys’ creative director Graeme Fidler, what makes the Harley unique is the British footwear brand’s new HLTSystem footbed, an acronym for “Harrys London Technogel System.” The new gel-filled capsule form was developed over two years with the help of London’s Harley Street-based sports physiotherapy practitioners Marylebone Health Group (MHG) and ensures weight distribution and impact relief.
Working from a brief from Fidler, MHG studied how the sinusoidal motion of human walking – the cyclical movement that encompasses posture, rhythm, balance and speed – interacts with the pressure points of the feet to arrive at the blueprint for a feet-first approach to holistic well-being.
Specialist sports design studio IIID then applied MHGs findings to create Harrys’ new trademark Technogel insole. Designed more from an anatomical approach than an orthopedic perspective, the HLTSystem footbed also features an all-important interspersing layer of air, and is both ergonomic and markedly light.
As for the rest of the Harley loafer’s design, Fidler said it takes inspiration from the brand’s signature Downing model and features a new in-house designed Vibram sole made from a durable rubber compound filled with Vibram foam.
“The design harkens straight back to the original style,” Fidler told FN in an interview. “It was all about creating a very beautiful and elegant penny loafer. Simple as that.”
The creative director noted that reaction from buyers in Paris was strong. “In most cases, our main global customers that have seen the new model have uplifted sales for spring 2025 about 25 percent simply because of this new shoe. In the next few weeks, we will be showing our U.S. and Canadian retail partners and we expect a similar reaction.”
As for if the HLTSystem footbed will be used in other shoe models, Fidler said “probably yes.”
“We will roll this out slowly, closely looking into which products can accommodate this technology,” he said. “We also want to keep this a bit special and not spread it across our entire line. But at this moment in time, the footbed will definitely arrive in the next styles that are developed within the world of Harley. There are definitely more styles to come in the future, which is great. But in terms of other categories within the collection, we haven’t agreed on anything yet.”