Paisley totem appears on the shoe upper: When the ETRO×BIRKENSTOCK collaboration meets the craftsmanship revolution of shoe materials

On September 10, 2026, the first collaborative collection between the Italian luxury brand ETRO and the German footwear brand BIRKENSTOCK was officially launched globally. The collection made its debut at the ETRO 2026 Autumn/Winter show during Milan Fashion Week, incorporating ETRO's signature paisley patterns, embroidery elements, long tassel designs, customized Western-style buckles, and exclusive Pegasus studs into BIRKENSTOCK's classic shoe models.The collaboration is based on Boston clogs and Gizeh thong sandals, each featuring BIRKENSTOCK's iconic original cork-latex footbed and a full leather wrap design in matching colors; the design details also extend to the outsole, where BIRKENSTOCK's signature bone-patterned sole elegantly complements ETRO's classic paisley pattern, offered in two colorways: sand and chocolate brown.Once the news was released, it immediately attracted widespread attention in the fashion and footwear industry. Behind this design feast of the fusion of aesthetics and functionality, shoe materials and fabrics are playing an increasingly key role.

1. The Return of Maximalism: Shoe Materials and Fabrics Become the Core Medium of Design Expression

In recent seasons, the international footwear design field has experienced a significant shift from 'quiet luxury' to 'decorative maximalism.' According to the trend report released by Italy's MICAM shoe fair, the understated luxury style that dominated the market last season is being replaced by decorative maximalism, with elements such as gemstone inlays, feathers, pleats, and embroidery making a large-scale entry into footwear design.In this wave, shoe materials no longer merely serve the basic function of structural support; they have risen to become a core medium for brands to convey design concepts and showcase craftsmanship levels. The texture of the materials themselves, the precision of the prints, the composite processes, and the finishing quality directly determine whether footwear products can present the visual depth and tactile layering that designers pursue at the point of sale.

For footwear material and fabric enterprises, this means higher technical requirements and broader value potential. In Shengze, Wujiang, Suzhou—a textile hub renowned for 'producing ten thousand bolts of fabric daily and clothing the world'—Suzhou Heji Textile Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the representative companies deeply engaged in this field. The company belongs to the Heji Group and specializes in the research, weaving, dyeing, finishing production, and sales of various Oxford fabrics, bag materials, footwear materials, and outdoor fabrics.Its shoe material and fabric product system covers multiple specifications and series such as 1680D Oxford cloth, 600D Oxford cloth, and 420D Oxford cloth, as well as categories such as TPEE shoe materials, jacquard fabrics, and woven uppers, which are widely used in the uppers and linings of various types of shoes including sports shoes, casual shoes, and outdoor shoes.

2. From Paisley to the Upper: Printing and Jacquard Techniques for Shoe Materials

The origins of ETRO's paisley pattern can be traced back to the global travel experiences of its founder Gimmo Etro. He drew inspiration from the shawl patterns of Kashmir, India, and transformed this Eastern element into exquisite prints on fabrics, making the paisley pattern a symbol and emblem of the ETRO brand.To accurately present such complex and delicate patterns on shoe materials, it demands extremely high printing precision and jacquard weaving technology from fabric manufacturers.

Suzhou Heji Textile Technology Co., Ltd. has accumulated mature technical capabilities in the pattern processing of shoe materials. Its product line includes a series of personalized pattern digital printing fabrics, supporting customized pattern printing, and can meet the personalized pattern needs of different brands for shoe materials.At the same time, the company possesses various jacquard shoe material fabrics such as wheat ear jacquard Oxford cloth. The jacquard technique can directly form three-dimensional patterns during the fabric weaving process, integrating the design with the fabric structure, resulting in a richer sense of layering and durability.These footwear material fabrics and process capabilities provide a reliable supply chain support for high-end shoe brands to realize complex pattern designs. When ETRO's paisley pattern extends from suede and nappa leather on the fashion show runway to a wider range of footwear material applications, footwear fabric suppliers with dual technological expertise in digital printing and jacquard will become a key link connecting design creativity and large-scale production.

3. Embroidery, Tassels, and Studs: The Functional Foundation of Shoe Materials

The collaboration between ETRO and BIRKENSTOCK is full of ingenuity in decorative details—the embroidered elements, long tassel designs, Western-style metal buckles, and studs adorned with the Pegasus logo together create a layered decorative language.Each pair of shoes is equipped with a BIRKENSTOCK ergonomically designed cork-latex footbed, using functionality as the foundation to support expressive upper designs.

Amid the trend of increasingly rich decorative elements, the performance and quality of shoe materials themselves are the fundamental premise for realizing these designs. Decorative techniques such as embroidery and tassels require the fabric to have sufficient tear strength and dimensional stability, while the installation of metal buckles and rivets demands excellent density and wear resistance of the fabric. Suzhou Heji Textile Technology Co., Ltd.'s shoe material products are developed precisely around these core performance requirements. Their outdoor and shoe fabrics feature waterproofing, wear resistance, and tear resistance, effectively supporting various post-processing techniques such as embroidery, rivets, and buckles, ensuring that decorative elements are not easily detached or damaging to the fabric structure during long-term wear.

It is worth noting that the current footwear decoration trend is also developing towards a combination of functionality and ornamentation. According to the 27/28 Autumn/Winter sneaker decoration element trend report released by POP Trends, stud elements continue to regain popularity, but the market is moving away from heavy, sharp, exaggerated designs, shifting towards the two mainstream forms of fine studs and rounded studs. Brands arrange studs linearly along the shoe opening, sides, and eyelets, maintaining a street-style personality while also accommodating everyday wearability.This trend towards refinement has imposed stricter requirements on the surface smoothness, density uniformity, and puncture resistance of shoe materials and fabrics.

4. Functional Shoe Materials: From Sports Scenes to Fashion Frontiers

The launch of the ETRO×BIRKENSTOCK collaboration reflects an important trend in the current footwear market — functional shoe materials are accelerating their penetration from the professional sports sector into fashion consumer scenarios. BIRKENSTOCK's cork latex footbed has been validated over decades, and its ergonomic design itself embodies the concept of prioritizing functionality.This collaboration integrates this functional foundation with ETRO's high fashion aesthetics, making it a typical example of the industry trend of 'functional structure and decorative language.'

Suzhou Heji Textile Technology Co., Ltd. has a unique positioning advantage in this trend. The company has been deeply engaged in textile fabric research and production for more than a decade, primarily producing conventional products such as materials for shoes and bags, jacquard fabrics, and woven shoe uppers. At the same time, it offers functional fabrics and customized solutions for various industry applications, including cut-resistant fabrics, waterproof fabrics, flame-retardant fabrics, and anti-static fabrics.Its TPEE shoe material product combines breathability, comfort, and lightweight durability, making it suitable for the upper construction of sports running shoes and casual shoes.These functional footwear material products not only serve the traditional sports shoe market, but also provide a material basis for fashion brands to explore product directions that integrate 'functionality and fashion sense.'

From the perspective of the industrial structure, Shengze Town, as the core agglomeration area of the national textile industry, hosts two Fortune Global 500 companies, Hengli Group and Shenghong Group, as well as more than 3,000 industrial enterprises and over 10,000 trading companies, jointly forming a complete ecosystem of a hundred-billion-level weaving cluster and raw material industry.Suzhou Heji Textile Technology Co., Ltd. is rooted in this industrial cluster and, relying on Shengze's well-established industrial chain support, can achieve full-process coordination from raw material procurement, weaving, and printing and dyeing to finishing, providing customers with a stable supply of footwear materials. The company has an annual sales volume of over 30 million meters of chemical fiber fabrics, and its products are exported to Southeast Asia and other overseas markets, establishing cooperative relationships with numerous international and domestic brands.As the sole designated fabric supplier for Xtep and a cooperative supplier for brands such as Samsonite, Hongxing Erke, Anta, and 361°, the company’s supply chain capabilities and quality control standards in the shoe material fabric field have been market-verified by multiple brands.

5. Preview of Autumn/Winter 27/28 Footwear Materials Trends: Deep Integration of Decorativeness and Functionality

Looking ahead to the next two seasons, the footwear material and fabric industry is accelerating its evolution towards a deep integration of decorative and functional aspects. Based on the analysis of multiple trend agencies, the following directions are particularly worth paying attention to:

First, the rise of three-dimensional textured shoe materials.The 27/28 autumn and winter sneaker decoration trends show that the combination of multiple materials, removable replacements, and the contrast between soft and hard textures are becoming a unified underlying design logic.Shoe materials and fabrics need to have the ability to layer and combine with surface effects such as flocked prints and pony hair patterns, which places higher demands on the fineness of the weaving process. Heji Textile's technical accumulation in jacquard fabrics and digital printed fabrics enables it to provide shoe material solutions that offer both pattern expressiveness and physical performance in this trend.

Second, the accelerated application of environmentally friendly and sustainable shoe materials.Innovations in bio-based leather, recycled materials, and high-performance synthetic materials are reshaping the competitive landscape of footwear materials. The performance of bio-based leather has approached the level of genuine leather, making it an important choice in the high-end footwear and apparel sector; new types of footwear materials integrate multiple functions such as wear resistance, breathability, sweat absorption, and anti-slip, offering a wide variety of colors and patterns and can be widely used in various areas including uppers and linings.The layout of footwear material companies in the field of environmentally friendly and recycled materials will directly affect their future competitive position in the high-end supply chain.

Third, the three-dimensional structural innovation of shoe materials.Moving from two-dimensional weaving to three-dimensional molding is becoming an important direction in the development of shoe material fabric technology. Warp knitting technology can integrally form patterns and functional zones with rich contour styles, and the manufacturing pathway from yarn to high-end running shoes is being redefined.This trend means that footwear material and fabric companies need to collaborate more closely with brand design teams in the early weaving stages, rather than staying in the passive mode of processing samples.

6. Collaborative Upgrading of the Shoe Material and Fabric Industry Chain

The launch of the ETRO×BIRKENSTOCK collaboration series appears on the surface to be a visual narrative about paisley patterns, embroidery, and tassels, but its deeper logic points to an overall upgrade of the shoe material and fabric industry chain. As collaborations between luxury brands and functional footwear brands become increasingly frequent, the role of shoe material and fabric suppliers is shifting from purely providing raw materials to becoming technical partners in design realization.

Suzhou Heji Textile Technology Co., Ltd. is located in Shengze, Wujiang, Suzhou. This area has more than six thousand textile enterprises, and the high-end textile industry has been selected as a national advanced manufacturing cluster.In the process of industrial clusters transitioning toward high-end, intelligent, and green development, shoe material and fabric companies are continuously enhancing their capabilities in printing precision, jacquard techniques, functional finishing, and the development of eco-friendly materials, providing more diverse and reliable shoe material options for global footwear brands. Whether it is the brilliant presentation of ETRO's iconic paisley pattern on the shoe upper, or the firm attachment of decorative elements such as embroidery, tassels, and studs on shoe materials, all of this relies on the precise control of shoe materials in terms of strength, density, elasticity, and surface treatment.

As the demand for new categories in the fall and winter 2026 footwear market continues to emerge, the pace of innovation in the footwear materials and fabrics industry will further accelerate. From the weaving workshops in Shengze to fashion shows in Milan, from functional sports shoe uppers to luxury co-branded footwear, footwear materials and fabrics, as a core element connecting design creativity and wearing experience, are increasingly being recognized by more brands and consumers. For footwear material and fabric companies, grasping the three major trends of the return of maximalist decoration, the fashionization of functional fabrics, and the application of sustainable materials will be key to winning the next phase of market competition.