Vivobarefoot bets on the US with 'Weird More' campaign: 'Perhaps normal is the problem'

Vivobarefoot has launched "Weird More – Free Your Feet," a global campaign and collection for fall/winter 2026, with the US as its lead market. The campaign is fronted by NFL wide receiver Mack Hollins and will be supported by an activation around the brand's New York flagship in SoHo, which opens this October.

"The US is an important growth market for Vivo, but it's also where we see a huge opportunity to take barefoot movement beyond the performance and wellness communities and into mainstream culture," co-founder and CEO Galahad Clark told FashionUnited. "New York is the perfect place to do that because fashion, sport, media and culture collide there."

The activation will bring together media, creators, athletes and the brand's community, with product trials and experiences. "The ambition is for the store to become more than retail; it should be a cultural home for the barefoot movement in New York," Clark said.

Challenging industry norms

The campaign takes direct aim at the conventions of the wider footwear industry. "For decades, the footwear industry has told us that feet need fixing: more cushioning, more support, more technology, more shoe. We believe the opposite: the human foot is already an extraordinary piece of natural technology," said Clark.

For Clark, the campaign goes beyond the product argument. "It's about questioning what we've collectively accepted as 'normal'. Because perhaps normal is the problem. Nature is wild, irregular, sensory and beautifully weird and humans are part of it. Weird More is an invitation to trust that intelligence again, starting with the ground beneath our feet," he said.

Puppets, wildlife and an NFL star

The hero film follows a pair of Vivobarefoot's Primus Trail Knit shoes through a wilderness populated by hand-crafted puppets, including a groundhog, a mushroom and a snail. The puppets were created by Claudia Brugnaletti, whose credits include Wes Anderson's "Isle of Dogs."

Vivobarefoot

"They make the science accessible without turning the campaign into a lecture," Clark said. "If we want natural movement to reach culture, it needs imagination and humour as much as information."

The film builds to a reveal of Hollins, who is known for arriving barefoot at stadiums. Clark said the brand chose him over a barefoot-running specialist because he "embodies the philosophy rather than simply endorsing it."

"He gives the campaign credibility, personality and cultural reach beyond the existing barefoot community," Clark said.

The campaign will run across paid media, out-of-home, YouTube, social, retail and email. Over the season, it will take on footwear myths such as the need for ankle support and the idea that more padding equals more comfort, pairing community voices with the brand's design principles.

On the science behind barefoot footwear, Clark said the brand is avoiding overstatement. "There is research supporting the role of foot strength, sensory feedback and natural movement, and evidence that footwear design can influence how the foot functions. But we're not interested in turning that into exaggerated medical claims," he said. "Where the science is established, we'll talk about it. Where it's still developing, we should be equally transparent about that."