Piloti perfection

I recently came across Piloti, a fabulous brand of footwear known for their driving shoes. They have expanded, now producing gorgeous designed leisure trainers for men and women.

• Piloti was founded in 1999 and got its start gearing pro racers and automotive enthusiasts for rallies, racing, track days and more. Early styles were very functional in nature, and designed almost exclusively for wear behind the wheel (if you check out the original Piloti Prototipo, it will give you a sense of how the aesthetic of the brand has evolved over the past 20 years)

• Canadian racing legend (and Le Mans champion!), Ron Fellows, credits Piloti racing shoes with extending his career – he wore them exclusively after he began suffering from nerve damage in the ball of his right foot, at the recommendation of a team mate

• The brand performed very well through the early 2000s, until the financial recession in 2007-2008 (as you can imagine, our brand’s performance is closely correlated to the luxury car market, and when that took a hit, so did Piloti)

• Piloti was purchased by Canadian retailer, Canadian Tire Corporation, in 2012, and has since been given a full brand refresh and a new strategic direction – to bridge the performance of a racing shoe with the design and comfort of an every day shoe, to create something utterly unique

• Today, Piloti offer a wide selection of versatile, premium shoes (adapting technology to every day essential styles like trainers, loafers, dress boots, etc.) that perform equally well behind the wheel and on foot

• The lifestyle shoes are made in Europe (either Portugal or Italy depending on the style) using best in class materials like top grain leather and supple suedes 

• They like to say that they take our cues from the professional racers who inspired (and continue to inspire) the brand – so Piloti offer only the best when it comes to performance, quality and design. 

• The company are very deliberate with their designs, trying to strike that ideal balance between design and driving performance. So, their performance technology in each shoe varies from style to style. Examples include:

  • The patented Roll Control 2.0 TM heel technology, that allows for smooth pedal transitions and distribution of force

  • An SFI/FIA rated race boot in the Pinnacle

  • A steel stability bar for torsional support in our Pistone X, Avenue and Apex cup sole

  • Soft, flexible forefoots for additional pedal feel

  • The list goes on!

• Piloti currently offer one women’s style in the Vittoria, and plan to introduce 3 additional women’s styles in 2020.

• The company Managing Director is Stephanie Wetmore and Creative Director is James Bleakley

• The top selling styles are the Avenue, Pistone X and Endurance trainers

• Piloti are continuing to bring new styles to market, and have a lot planned for the future.

• The company seek out like minded partners in the industry, to collaborate on special designs. This year’s partners include:

  • Pagani Automobili (US & UK only)

  • Corvette (US & Canada only)

  • 24 Hrs of Le Mans

  • Stand 21