After the ballet sneaker, Salomon has now, in collaboration with MM6 Margiela, also designed mules. Neither pool slide nor running sneaker, the XT-4 Mule is a shoe unlike any other. Something we have never seen before. There are three variations: a white version with gradient blue, purple, and fluorescent yellow accents; one in faded tones (as if it had been left in the sun) of yellow, slate, and blue; and the last – certainly the most minimalist – all in black with a stealth tile texture.

Part of MM6 Maison Margiela’s Spring-Summer 2024 collection, the XT-4 (one of our favorite Salomon sneakers) is a kind of unisex slipper designed by the MM6 design studio that intrigues many. This sneaker – which we can consider high-tech – «unexpectedly transforms into a geek-chic summer mule» as stated in the press release accompanying the launch. And so, Salomon’s advanced trail-running technologies are repurposed into the most essential and universal shoe form, aimed at ease and comfort.

«The shapeless nebula that is Fashion absorbs everything in its path, often regurgitating Frankenstein-like amalgams of shoes, clothes, and accessories which people like you and I consume with delight. The mule has been one such beautiful atrocity» writes Will Lennox in GQ, introducing an article on the so-called mule treatment from which no silhouette now seems safe. His is a subtle reflection that mirrors our stream of thoughts after seeing the first images of the XT-4 Mule. Gorpcore has now reached this point, and we don’t mind it at all. Like Lennox, however, we wonder what will be the next shoe (or trend) to be transformed into a mule.