Women's Karhu Trainers

Karhu has been making running shoes in Finland for more than a century, and what's on this page comes out of its own archive rather than being redrawn for it. The Fusion 2.0 is a full nineties runner with the height to match, and the Mestari could pass for something off a seventies track. If you want something between the two, the Aria 95 and the Albatross 82 are where we'd look. More in all footwear and casual shoes if none of these land.

The Karhu Fusion 2.0: the Chunky Trainer

This is the one most people arrive for and it's the biggest shoe Karhu makes. Suede panels over mesh, and enough height under the heel that it changes where the hem of a trouser sits — worth thinking about if you're mostly in cropped or straight-leg. It's a shoe that wants a bit of volume above it. We'd put it with something loose rather than something fitted, and it doesn't look its best box-fresh, so anyone precious about keeping white trainers white will find it a test.

Slimmer Women's Karhu Trainers: Mestari, Aria 95 and Albatross 82

If the Fusion is too much shoe, this is where to go. The Mestari is the lowest and narrowest of them, close to an old track shoe, and it's the easiest thing here to wear under a midi dress without the whole outfit going sporty. The Aria 95 is a little more built up. The Albatross 82 is the odd one out and the one we'd take — it's the only pair of its shape on the page and it looks less like a running shoe than anything else Karhu makes.

Karhu Trainers for Winter: Ikoni Trail and Super Fulcrum

These are the outdoor-looking end, and we'll be straight about it: they borrow from trail running rather than being built for it. Fine across a park or along a towpath, not kit for a wet hillside. Where they earn their place is a British winter, when the flatter shoes in the cupboard are either too pale or too thin to be any use in February.

Karhu barely changes these shapes year to year, so a pair is easy to replace when it finally goes. There's more in all footwear and casual shoes, and usually a pair or two left in sale footwear.

FAQs