HIGH PERFORMANCE RELAXATION
When we started, the idea that your resting hours should be just as important as the rest of your life was novel at the time. Wellness and slow living was not a mainstream concept. Athleisure was just coming into frame. There were yoga pants and joggers, but no really great options for footwear. After all, you have shoes for running, boots for hiking, and sandals for the beach, so why do we settle for cheap, ugly slippers when it’s time to relax?
“The most valuable thing on earth is to have each hour as our own.” Bukowski said that, and we agreed. We accepted nothing less than full ownership of our lives, even during downtime. We called it High Performance Relaxation and built it into every aspect of our products - from yoga mat insoles to stretch laces. We asked people to relax with us and had those who joined feeling as good as they looked.
Make it stand out
Product Positioning
TIME Slippers
Year
10/26/2015
We designed the uppers to look like a high-end, casual sneaker but used incredibly soft and flexible materials to craft a slipper feel. This resulted in something that looked one way and felt another. So we had a choice: we could go into the comfortable sneaker space, or we could launch as a slipper company. If we went the sneaker route we would be competing with Nike and Adidas. If we went the slipper route it would be UGG and L.L. Bean. Both sets are fierce and respected competitors, but slippers were more of a niche with comfort being paramount. We had a unique look for the slipper market, and new technology in the construction, so that’s where we went.
By building the category into our name (and our URL) we were able to further cement the slipper concept in the mind of the consumer. This created instant intrigue because it didn’t entirely make sense. It said “slipper” but it didn’t look like one, so they clicked out of curiosity. Once on the website, they learned about the features and benefits as it became obvious this was something new that was truly a blend of the two styles.
We had to create visuals that showed how this beautifully designed footwear was actually a slipper, and we had to do it in the first 5 seconds. So we went direct, never beating around the bush. “IMPOSSIBLY COMFORTABLE SLIPPERS” was the first thing you would see. We could have easily said “Impossibly stylish slippers”, but felt that it wasn’t for us to decide what the customer liked or didn’t like. Much as Tesla chose not to focus on the fact that their cars were electric in the beginning (everybody knew that), we decided to draw attention to the elements that people cared about when buying slippers. And when it came to comfort, TIME Slippers could go zero to sixty in 1.5 seconds.
We showed the softness of the lining and the yoga mat insoles at the same time. The visual of the insoles rolled up like a yoga mat was icing on the cake.
The collapsible heel was one of the biggest draws of the product. It allowed the customer to wear them as a mule, or flip up the heel for a more secure fit when a bit of walking is in order.
The soft-wool lining was paramount to explaining what the product actually accomplished. Without it, customers could buy thinking that it was a “regular” lining, even though there is no such standard. We made sure the wool never came as a surprise.
How do you display the softness of a material that people can’t touch? We decided to show a closeup with lighting that highlights the fine pebble grain of the leather. It’s clean and clear. You can see the stitching at the laces pulling gently on the leather. You can almost sense the buttery soft hand-feel this product has.
In order for them to be “slippers” They must, in fact, slip onto the foot. So we created a V-cut entry system on the mid and hi-tops that allowed the customer to get them on in seconds. No tying necessary.
Stretch laces were another subtle key to getting a comfortable ride. They expand and contract with the movement of the foot, so there is never too much tension on the upper. This, combined with the other innovative features, resulted in a smooth, gliding feel.