Brand collabs can often feel like thoughtless cash-grabs, but HOKA’s new linkup with MAAP feels natural. These are, after all, two brands that take performance very seriously – whether your sport of choice involves pounding pavements or cruising the backroads. For this new project, MAAP leaves bikes behind for a breif moment and brings its destinctive design language to one of HOKA's key trail shoes: the Tecton X 2.
If you’re unfamiliar, MAAP is one of those labels that’s turned cycling kit into something covetable. Founded in Melbourne in 2014 by Jarrad Smith and Oliver Cousins, it’s won a loyal following for technical apparel that performs as well on your local climb as it looks when you’re sat outside a café skulling cortados afterwards. Their background in surfing and skateboarding shows. There’s a borrowed coolnes – an understanding that high-performance sportswear can sit comfortably alongside streetwear without looking contrived.
For this limited-edition collab, the pair have reworked the Tecton X 2 trail running shoe in a typically MAAP “limeade” colourway, complete with reflective hits borrowed from the Aussie brand's kit. The propulsive carbon plates remain, while hot melt overlays and splatter paint details nod to MAAP’s distinctive visual language. There’s a functional edge here, but also a playful feel that sets it apart from your standard high-vis running shoe.
HOKA x MAAP: A wider shift
This isn’t just about footwear, either. The collaboration reflects a wider trend: the blur between performance gear and everyday uniform. It makes sense. Who doesn’t want a shoe that can handle an unplanned adventure? HOKA’s credibility in running is well-established – just ask any marathoner – but with partnerships like this, it’s clear the French brand wants a piece of the lifestyle pie too.
The HOKA x MAAP Tecton X 2 launches exclusively at MAAP stores on July 11, with a global release on MAAP.cc and HOKA.com on July 15. If you’re in Melbourne, Los Angeles or Berlin, MAAP will mark the launch with community events, which feels right – after all, the shoe is about getting outside and being part of something bigger.
Next up: Meet the alternative cycling apparel brands reshaping the industry.
