I’ve been a big fan of Ecco shoes for some 20 years. The last time I was in Denmark (in 1999), I picked up three pair..they were a lot less expensive in their home country at the time.
Eccos always seemed different from other shoes; certainly more comfortable, but also with a unique Danish minimalist feel to them as in “form follows function”. In the early ’90’s you were hard pressed to find Eccos, and they were brutally expensive, almost on a par with Alden and other hand-made classical leather shoes. But that must have been in the days when they were still made in Denmark, because today you can find them in just about every major city, at both corporate stores, outlets, and high-end mass-retailers. But BEWARE: the shoes sold in outlet malls have no resemblance to real Eccos; they are made for the outlet market as part of a “brand marketing” strategy and are inevitably very cheaply made. For example, you won’t find any of the models shown on Ecco’s web site in an outlet store; a dead giveaway.
I’ve been reading about Ecco’s Biom Project; the company’s entry into the running show market with a design re-invented from scratch in a major collaboration between the company, athletes, and European universities. I bought a pair of Biom Walk today and am slowly getting used to them. Since they engage different muscle and ligament sets from ordinary running shoes you have to break them (or rather, your body) in slowly.
Ecco has a dedicated web site for Biom and it’s well worth the visit; beautifully done. Bring your cursor to the bottom of the screen to trigger the menu, then visit the various sections. Start with the one on Biom Philosophy.
I’ll keep you posted on how they feel and perform. Here’s a brief video introduction: