a new Frontier

Air Jordan 6 (VI) Retro Gold Red Black

Air Jordan 17   Ask Sharon Tomkinson about trainers, and you would be forgiven for thinking she has a PhD in the psychology of Athletic Footwear. As marketing director of Cobra Sports she is responsible for the overall branding and direction of the company, and has recently seen the birth of a new shop, Frontier, a concept which, she says, "I've been banging on about for ages."Frontier has been a department within Cobra Sports stores since the late Eighties, when trendy young things and outward-bound enthusiasts alike were tramping around in pale tan Timberland boots and lumberjack shirts. Now the athletic footwear giants are in on the outward-bound act, too: rather than just making trainers for track and field sports, Nike have a range called All Conditions Gear (ACG), which was launched in the US in 1988; Adidas have also diversified into adventure shoes, and brands like Merrell, formerly used by climbers and hill walkers, are suddenly readily available on the high street, rather than in specialist shops.

Air Jordan 4   Tomkinson has been watching this shift away from the retro, hi-tech, and ultra-trendy trainers with interest. Eighteen months ago she predicted that adventure shoes were going to be the next big thing, colleagues and friends nodded sagely, happy with their Nike Air Max limited editions, but most will admit now that she was right. Air Jordan XX9 A look at the shelves in the new Conran Group-designed shop on Carnaby Street reflects this new trend. Army green, chocolate brown and beige colours dominate, fabrics include netting and neoprene and the overall look is, well, adventurous, especially as they sit on shelves with images of grass, sky or water behind them. A few of the shelves even talk. Pick up a trainer and an American voice extols the virtues of that particular style. Its aim - not to be a novelty, but to educate.