Mark Wahlberg’s activewear brand Municipal, which he launched in 2019 with Harry Arnett and Stephen Levinson, recently released their buzzy new sneaker in partnership with footwear company StreetTrend. Wahlberg made a “significant minority investment” in StreetTrend last year. StreetTrend has been the parent company of the Italian sneaker brand P448 since 2018.
Municipal’s first shoe is aptly called Origin — a comfortable, unisex, wear-everywhere sneaker featuring their proprietary M.Float foam sole technology. Municipal announced their footwear venture in July and Origin officially dropped on Oct. 18. Wahlberg, often spotted in Municipal gear, has since been wearing his Origin kicks and also road-testing their 2024 footwear offerings.
Walhberg helped launch the Origin sneaker with a bang, offering a flurry of interviews to share his excitement about the new shoe he’s been wearing everywhere. He also signed shoes and sat with fans at the IRL Origin launch at the Concepts store on Newbury Street in Boston.
The Oscar-nominated actor and sneakerhead wanted a stylish, comfortable multi-functional shoe that he and other go-getters could wear throughout an active day, from the gym to wherever else they ventured. This is how Origin was born. A wide footbed offers stability and comfort to stay balanced during workouts and features M.Float technology—four layers of three different types of foam—for superior all-day comfort. M.Float is their take on Adidas Boost, and Nice Kicks asserts it feels comparable.
The Municipal website describes Origin as “the most comfortable lifestyle sneaker that incorporates the bold style we’re known for… designed for everyone out there making big things happen who always NEED to feel their absolute best.”
Footwear News recently spoke to Arnett and Wahlberg about Municpal’s footwear venture.
“You’ll notice a lot of style cues from iconic shoes that we all love but done in our own unique way. We didn’t want to be derivative,” Arnett said of Origin’s design.
“And we didn’t want to just ‘collab’ our way into the category. That didn’t feel right to us and didn’t feel leading to us at all. We wanted to do something that kind of created a new category. Style and comfort together, inextricably linked.”
“We went for classic style, but new and cool too. Head turning in the right way,” Wahlberg added.
The Origin comes in six colorways, offering a mix of bold and classic colors on the sole and suede upper and retails for $180. They are Black, Charcoal, Sky Blue, Light Green, Navy, and Black/Magenta. The lace-up shoe is made of 65 percent natural suede, 32 percent fabric (nylon & poly 3D mesh) and three percent PU leather. Municipal is printed in large font across the bottom of the colored sole and, in smaller font, across the back of the shoe.
Each pair of shoes come with a square, zippered shoe bag and an extra set of contrasting color laces. The shoes will also feature fun Easter eggs that tie back to Wahlberg — some will have quotes of his on the sockliner and others will have his intense workout schedule on them.
Origin is just the beginning of Municipal’s foray into footwear. 2024 will bring three new drops, all featuring M.Float’s comfort. The first new shoe will be a sandal — a slide, to be exact — that Arnett says will “blow people’s minds.”
In the spring, they’ll also launch their first “all-terrain concept” shoe, this initial one focused on golfers. Wahlberg has been testing the prototype out on the golf course. In the fall, a “comfort-performance court shoe” will round things out.
Ever since he was a kid, the “Departed” star has been obsessed with sneakers and has since amassed an enviable collection that takes up much of his Las Vegas office. He has done shoe partnerships in the past, most notably his green Wahlburgers Air Jordan collab. Cited as one of the rarest, most expensive Jordans ever, they resale at over $25,000.
He has also cited Michael Jordan and his iconic Nikes as a big inspiration for his new Municipal shoe venture. Yet, it was important to him to have full control over the shoe to really bring something new to the market.
