Powerlace: the story of an innovation born in Canada

Apr 2, 2026

Powerlace: the story of an innovation born in Canada

A human-scale company

Frédérick Labbé and his cousin Jonathan Boisvert are mechanical engineers. That's not an incidental detail, it's exactly what explains why, one day, they looked at a shoe differently from everyone else. As a mechanical system that hadn't meaningfully evolved in decades.

The observation was there, obvious once you were willing to see it: the footwear industry had innovated on just about everything except what actually mattered. Materials, outsoles, designs, sure. But the way a shoe holds the foot, the way it goes on and comes off, hadn't really changed. Frédérick decided that was where something genuinely new could exist, and he committed to it with a stubbornness that would last for years.

What we set out to build

Our ambition wasn't to make a connected shoe, or to add electronics for the sake of technology. We wanted to design a simple, reliable mechanism that uses what's already there, the natural weight of the body, to trigger itself. Nothing more, nothing less.

That mechanism, we developed, tested, and reworked until it was exactly what we wanted it to be. When the foot enters the shoe, the mechanism engages and tightens the lace around the foot precisely and completely. A real lace, not an elastic, not an approximation, which makes all the difference when it comes to support. To remove the shoe, a discreet lever at the back is all it takes. A light press, you lift your leg, and it's done.

Before putting this mechanism in anyone's hands, we put it through 10,000 slip-in and slip-out cycles in a laboratory setting, without it showing the slightest sign of weakness. We manufacture it here, in Canada, and we back it with a one-year warranty. That's not a marketing talking point, it's simply the way we build things.

In 2015, our invention was granted an international patent. A recognition that meant a great deal to us, not for what it represents on paper, but because it confirmed that what we had created was genuinely new. We are, to this day, the only ones to hold this technology.

A venture built by a team

From the very beginning, Frédérick and Jonathan weren't alone. Their friend David Santagata joined the team to handle the commercial side and operations. Michel Boisvert, their uncle and a Canadian businessman with a solid track record in the industrial world, also joined the Powerlace adventure from the start, bringing experience and perspective that helped us grow in the right direction.

We are a Canadian team, built on trust that predates Powerlace. And that's perhaps what allowed us to hold on through the years when nothing was quite ready yet.

The shoe we make

We chose not to compromise on materials. Because a shoe meant to last years cannot be built with materials that won't go the distance.

The leather we use is 100% pure nappa, sourced from Italy, not synthetic, not blended. The outsole is natural rubber. The mechanism cables are made from Vectran, the same material used in parachute cables, chosen for its exceptional long-term strength. These are choices that aren't necessarily visible at first glance, but that you feel with use, and that make a Powerlace age well rather than wear out quickly.

Where we stand today

Powerlace is the result of years of relentless work, a patented self-lacing shoe technology, and a team that deeply believes in what it does. We continue pushing the boundaries of what footwear technology can achieve, with the same standards we've held from day one.

If you're curious to discover what we've built, our shoes are available directly in our online store.