Brooks and Alex Zono Bring Style to Trail Running Shoes

Alex Zono applied his signature style to the Brooks Ghost Trail running shoe.

The Brooks x Alex Zono Ghost Trail. | Brooks Running

Alex Zono has built his name on personalizing running gear with a quirky flair. The South African runner and designer works in a world of hand-drawn graphics and DIY touches, and his eponymous label has become known for whimsical pieces that treat running as closer to a lifestyle than sport.

This marks his first footwear collaboration, and Brooks Running gave him one of their strongest platforms to work with. Below is everything fans and athletes must know before the shoes are completely sold out.

Alex Zono's Style

The Brooks x Alex Zono Ghost Trail. | Brooks Running

Cape Town is where Zono calls home, and it's where the label originated. He ran competitively before he ever started designing, and that background shaped how he designed gear. He wanted gear that didn't look generic or traditional at the start line. So he started making his own.

Every release since has carried the same do-it -yourself feel his designs are known for. It's this mindset that turned a small South African runner into a designer whose label is recognized all over the globe.

Brooks Ghost Trail

The Brooks x Alex Zono Ghost Trail. | Brooks Running

The Ghost name is one of Brooks' best-selling franchises, and putting that platform under a Ghost Trail release with Zono's essence all over this collaboration just feels right. His signature is felt throughout: butterflies, clouds, hand-drawn motifs of his own design, carrying the same touch he's brought to everything before this.

You get a co-branded tongue, a custom sock liner, and logo detailing that ties the design together, finished off with a multi-color outsole that keeps the playful energy going all the way down.

Two colorways are dropping: Poppy Red/Potting Soil and Butterfly/Winter/Bonbon. Both look like they're straight from his sketchbook, nothing like your standard trail issue.

Performance Technology

The Brooks x Alex Zono Ghost Trail. | Brooks Running

Behind the graphics, it's still, at its core, a Ghost Trail. That means it inherits the Nitrogen-infused cushioning, all-terrain traction, and a breathable mesh upper.

It is everything the franchise is known for, while adding the rugged performance technology needed to move between pavement, gravel, and actual trail.

Shopping Information

The Brooks x Alex Zono Ghost Trail. | Brooks Running

The Brooks x Alex Zono Ghost Trail dropped in two colorways for $160 in adult sizes. Both colorways are selling out quickly on Alex Zono's site and BrooksRunning.com. This is a limited release, so if it's on your list, I wouldn't wait around for it.

I have a pair of the Brooks Ghost Amp and a couple of Zono's other collaborations already. This one's a lock for the addition. I do a ton of trail running, and it looks like a shoe I need.

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