Protagonist of some of the most incredible sporting achievements in the world, able to innovate the concept of performance and outdoor experience, a relentless search for product innovation: this is the energy that has driven Vibram for over eighty years. Collater.al went to the brand’s headquarters in Albizzate (Varese, Italy), to talk to Global General Manager Paolo Manuzzi, going over some key moments of the brand. An identity that starts with its founder Vitale Bramani’s bond with nature and ends with the most innovative projects planned for the future.
Starting from the intuition of marking soles with a simple logo, enhancing them as a product with a distinct and recognizable quality and not only as a component, Vibram has marked some milestones in the history of footwear and design in a broader sense. Winner of the Compasso d’Oro ADI award with the Furoshiki, the brand has also marked stages in an aesthetic evolution, with the launch in 2006 of the FiveFingers.
The Carrarmato sole is the most famous and copied in the world, the most important fashion brands collaborate with Vibram every season for their collections, everything starts from the woods, the rock walls and a factory where rubber can become anything.

How do you handle the pressure of being a leader in your field? Do you feel it?

It’s not easy, you feel the pressure and everyone wants to steal your position, they study us at all stages, from product development to marketing and communication. It’s easy to make mistakes nowadays, and you pay a lot more for them than in the past. Even people who didn’t care about the language before are now looking for ways to attack you, it’s part of the competition between companies, many clothing brands have been overwhelmed by unfortunate choices. Our past and a certain amount of experience gives us the strength to handle what I like to call ‘positive pressure’.

Over 80 years of history, keeping up with the times and in some cases anticipating them. There are 3-5 key moments that have marked the history of Vibram?

Yes, the first is certainly the invention of the Carrarmato sole, the best-selling and above all the most copied in the world, even after 80 years. I think it is an under-recognised design icon because it is not an object like a chair or a lamp, but has a value that I think goes far beyond that.

The second key moment was Vitale Bramani’s (Vibram’s founder, editor’s note) genius idea of branding the soles, putting his name on a product that had always been considered only a component, and as soon as possible giving it a colour that stood out from the rest of the shoe. This gave it recognition and even greater visibility, a fundamental step in reaching the consumer and making quality perceived. An important step for us.

As a third moment I would say internationalisation, but it’s a natural process over time that comes with development, certainly the biggest phenomenon in recent years has been FiveFingers. When we decided to bring it to market in 2006 it gave the brand visibility and made us perceive ourselves as an innovative company, giving us the impetus to be seen as people who understand footwear, feet and walking. These are the most important phenomena. 

Vibram started thinking about the concept of sustainability earlier than others. It is a central and complex issue to deal with, no manufacturing company can really call itself sustainable anymore? Where are we today on a general level and what is Vibram’s approach? 

We have made a lot of progress but never enough, talking about sustainability means continuing to improve research, talking about it is not only good from a communication point of view, but because then companies set limits for themselves, it is part of a process of continuous improvement at company level. It’s not about how much waste you make or your carbon footprint, it’s more about the challenge that companies set themselves. The idea of having targets and going out and improving them, that’s sustainability.

You have to be careful because with the word sustainability it’s easy to make yourself look good, in a truthful way maybe, but without realising that you are causing damage in other moments of production, you often focus only on a mission, without considering a 360° vision.
Vibram has always kept a low profile, it has done what it thought was necessary back in the 90s, when we used production waste, which is a typical philosophy of our product. We have always used renewable energy sources but we don’t make it public because we still have a lot to do. We make soles for the outdoors, our consumers respect nature, our founder has always had that philosophy. I hope the consumer gets that message.

Vibram was born out of a desire to maintain direct contact between man and nature. In light of the pandemic and the rediscovery of a more intimate relationship with nature, how has the brand’s identity been strengthened?

Once forced to stay indoors, people have realised that being outdoors is much healthier. The rediscovery of open spaces is a positive aspect, but above all the rediscovery of spaces that many people had behind their homes and now enjoy.
People have become more aware that equipment is also important for outings, which has helped us. If you have the right equipment, you can go on a trip with more confidence, whether it’s the right backpack or waterproof shoes that you can wear all day.
The search for more technical, high-performance products has also helped us, because we create soles for versatile shoes, not just specific products for a single use.

You talked about goals and the future, how do you see Vibram in the future, in particular the challenge of keeping the present, the traditions of the past and the future vision connected? 

I see a strong mentality on innovation and product development, so I hope to see Vibram always as an innovative company, dedicated to the product and the end consumer, and we want to transmit this to everyone, mainly internally.
The culture of the product is in the foreground and thanks to that you are able to stay connected to both the past and the future, because it allows you to take into account mistakes and improve them in the project that you will start working on immediately after. This link allows you to keep an eye in two directions. I also believe that if a company has a quality product, sooner or later it will manage to sell it, giving satisfaction and peace of mind to all the people who work there. The old principle of quality before quantity.