After a successful debut last season, rock and roll shoe crew Underground is teaming up with heritage knitwear brand, Pringle of Scotland for a second time around. The resulting Spring/Summer 2015 capsule collection is a study on the British punk subculture—commonly associated with the UK-based shoe label—and the recent golf-inspired shoe trend. In the new release, Underground’s iconic creeper style oxfords are given a sleek update with a rounder silhouette and are topped off with simple lacing over a loafer-esque bib. The collection will be available in the classic colors of black, white, and navy and—if it’s anything like the previous one, which produced only 30 pairs of each style—we are ready to stand in line.
Here’s the secret rule to everything cool: when something goes from available to inaccessible, there’s a paradigmatic shift in the general retail cognizance, and us, the shopper, immediately needs to own it. Pay $200 over market value for a t-shirt off Craigslist? Sure! Sneak into Mexico to pick up at the latest scent? Why not? Such is the case—though the circumstances aren’t nearly dramatic—for APL (Athletic Propulsion Labs), whose jump-intensifying Load ‘N Launch® Technology was literally banned by the NBA for “providing an undue competitive advantage.” So when we heard the performance brand was rolling out its first running shoe collection we had to be on that before sidewalks and running-tracks got wind of the release. We’re not taking any chances this time.
Created for maximum performance and intense comfortability, the new running line includes three styles in various colors which we’ve broken down below:
1. Wind Chill
Image: APL.
$150, Designed to make the user run faster while using less energy. Rubber outsole, compression midsole, Load ‘N Launch® technology, and more. Available in two colors.
2. TechLoom Pro
Image: APL.
$140, Designed for extreme comfort and a clean look. Flex grooves, single layer for support and breathability, performance textiles for fit, and more. Available in three colors.
3. Joyride
Image: APL.
$120, Designed to increase energy generation. Chevron mesh toe box, external heel counter, flex grooves, and more. Available in two colors.
The APL running collection is available online and at Sacks Fifth Avenue stores now.
Named artistic director at Berluti in 2011, Alessandro Sartori’s artistic vision can be seen in the story he portrays each season, capturing the classic elegance of menswear while adding a modern twist and evoking the spirit of the brand. Here he discusses Berluti’s Grande Mesure program and emblematics shoes, as well as essentials and trends that breathe life into timeless styles.
Essential Homme: Describe your personal style.
Alessandro Ssartori: My personal style would be a blend of traditional tailoring and modernity. There is a focus on construction, quality, and a novelty of materials that have an artistic touch. The artistic touch could be with proportions, colors, fabrics, and so on.
EH: Upon joining Berluti and helping to launchready-to-wear, what are your intentions for the house?
AS: My aim is to create a full universe where the shoes are the center and the silhouette is the focus as it’s being built. Berluti has a vocabulary already and we keep building from that while we think of the existing customer and want to extend. We want to complete the style and keep the language of the house to offer ready to wear for the customers who currently buy the shoes and waited for the ready to wear collection. I also want to tie in everything from the presentation to the shoes and clothes. It is not just the presentation to showcase the products but the location, the setting, the music, and the full direction of the brand and house is part of it all. We want to embody the collection into a format, a place, a situation, an ambiance.
EH: What do you want men to feel when they wear Berluti?
AS: I want them to feel unique, special, with a lot of character while respecting their comfort and needs. I want to give a strong style, a clear identity, a sharp masculine look but at the same time not transforming the man. I want to add something different and amend their style at best.
Image: Berluti.
EH: Who, in the past or present, embodies the spirit of the Berluti man?
AS: A lot of customers, ambassadors, and friends of Berluti embody the spirit of the house. Some friends of the brand include Pierre Casiraghi, Joshua Jackson, Jeremy Irons, and Maurizio Cattelan—all very nice gentlemen. What I like about them is that they are authentic—real men in their lives wearing Berluti’s clothes, ties, and shoes. They are artists in spirit projecting character, personality, attitude while looking impeccable, trendy, and stylish in their own unique way.
EH: Tell me more about the Grande Mesure program.
AS: The project of the Grande Mesure program was always in our brand route. We do the ready to wear collections with a small, unique handmade group of tailors and boutiques. As our ready to wear collection is already at a high level, we wanted to extend the bespoke service instead of made to measure. This process engages the customer with the tailors in taking their measurements, suggestions, ideas, fabric choice, lining choice, stitching, pockets, and everything else to be made into a pattern in paper. After hand cutting and hand stitching, the garment is crafted where at least three to four fittings is needed totaling to 72 hours—if it’s a jacket as an example. The full bespoke collection includes 25 pieces and ranges from trench coats, safari jacket, sports jackets, suits, tuxedos, shirts, jeans, chinos as well as shoes. It’s an intimate stage of customization and personalization combining traditional tailoring and modern designs. This service makes Berluti the first worldwide brand that offers a full “bespoke wardrobe.”
EH: With Berluti offering a full wardrobe service from the bespoke collection, how do pieces like chinos and denim benefit the modern day man?
AS: There is a combination of factors. First is the fabric and quality used for chinos and denim. The exclusive materials mixed with the handmade construction creates a one of a kind piece tailored specifically for the customer. It’s the product for you, made for you, and designed by you. When you wear it, you feel it. The difference in proportion customized to your body is a level of magic. As denim and chinos are everyday staples, comfort and product is exactly to your fit.
Image: Berluti.
EH: Why are the “ready-to-walk” shoes in your Emblematics line indispensable to a man’s wardrobe?
AS: They are timeless styles and products representing the history and innovations of the house. The designs are classic and unique in their own way varying from the cut, color, and material. The five styles encompass the modern man’s lifestyle interchangeable from work to social settings to leisure fun during nights and weekends.
EH: Which shoe style would you recommend as a staple piece for every man?
AS: The Andy loafer in tobacco. The more you wear it, the more beautiful it becomes. As it gets older, the soft leather takes the shape and size of your foot. This style can be worn with your suit, jeans, or my personal favorite, a classic three-button suit or custom brown chinos.
EH: How do you see “trends?” And how does that affect you when designing for the next collection?
AS: As a designer, I love them. But at the same time, I like timelessness. I like to build pieces that you can blend with your wardrobe. My collection blends between the modern trends and the previous seasons while keeping in mind color, design, fit, and silhouette. I want to expand [our customer’s] options—to blend the new and classics, and for these options to last many seasons. I design for my customer and his life.
Building off his father’s footwear legacy, Santoni CEO Giuseppe Santoni expertly walks the line between traditional technique and forward reaching style—in handcrafted leather loafers, of course.
EH: Italians have the historical reputation of being quality shoemakers. Where did that come from?
GS: In Italy, we have an important tradition of handmade goods in general. Our attitude towards handwork is very strong and has strong roots. This is also true for shoes—some districts are even dedicated to shoemaking, like [my family’s] region, the Marche.
EH: Have men’s perspectives on the importance of shoes changed throughout the years?
GS: Men have always been very keen to shoes, but [now] we are assisting to a clearer process: the growing importance of shoes and accessories in the definition of one’s style. [Today], men start with their shoes to decide their outfit.
EH: What can you tell about a man from the kind of shoes he wears?
GS: When you look at a man’s shoes, you really get an idea of the kind of person you are speaking with. [They] really distinguish a man’s taste level and the energy he has in doing things. When he takes great care in selecting and keeping up with his shoes, it’s noticeable. Clothing is important, but for many men—especially those in business—it’s hard to dress very different. With shoes you can really give a distinguished touch.
Image: Santoni.
EH: And what do your shoes say about you?
GS: For myself, I like double-buckle monk strap shoes or moccasin loafers—very traditional. [But I] wear many other types, because I personally test every Santoni shoe before it goes into production. I’m really a shoe fanatic, so I love it.
EH: More than any other garment or accessory you could argue that shoes need to be especially comfortable, since we’re on our feet a majority of the day. How important is comfort for Santoni’s shoes?
GS: It is important to have comfort in your shoes: to not walk around and have two weeks of back pain after only one day of wear. My father gave me the passion for details and quality, but he was most famous for his fit. Today, Santoni has a style specially made with a latex sole—100 percent pure rubber—that is a classic shoe, but feels just like a sneaker. We also use shell cordovan as a material. This leather has been specially treated with a traditional tanning process so that when you wear it, the heat of your feet regenerates the leather, allowing it to become softer and warmer.
EH: It seems to me that Santoni is tethered between heritage—in terms of craftsmanship and technique—and modernism, especially when it comes to design.
GS: We’ve created a mixture of cultures in the company. Still keeping the workmanship from my father and the workers that have stayed with the company for the past 30 to 40 years, I’ve added a very young and innovative team of designers from all over the world. We mixed these ideas to reinterpret our classic shoes in a young point of view. I myself am the balance between these two worlds. I worked the line since I was very young, so I know how to make the shoes, but I also know how to direct my team. I can put together the two elements of innovation and tradition.
EH: Do you think that balance reflects men’s taste?
GS: Our vision reflects the evolution of the market, and our goal is to combine classic and contemporary—or better, to make the classic contemporary and stylish. This is possible only if you offer a quality product, made by the rule of book, with an extreme, and maniacal attention for details, which I know really makes the difference.
EH: This sort of balance of tradition and innovation applies to your literal infrastructure as well. You’ve been able to transform the company into an environmentally friendly operation.
GS: I’ve remade the company in a very green way. We finished construction for our new offices in 2011 using 90 percent recyclable materials. Now, a “double skin” facade allows our building—which is completely transparent—to function as a real greenhouse during the winter months and as a solar chimney during the summer. We’ve been able to cut down energy by 40 percent. We also have solar panels on our roof and through their work, we actually produce more energy than we require. We recycle rainwater for our toilets and production use. We are sensitive to the environment, sensitive to the future, and we try to be responsible in order to protect the planet as much as we can.
EH: Santoni started as your father’s local workshop and is now an internationally known brand. It’s been said that one of the first stages in becoming a respected shoemaker is to “learn the shape” of the shoe. Where would you say you are today?
GS: When I started, the company was very small. We had maybe 15 to 20 people. Now the dimension of the company is a little bit bigger. We are very proud to still have complete quality and production control, but now we have about 400 people making shoes every day. The business is a bit more complicated. When you compare yourself to the global world, there become new stages of where to get to, and new challenges and possibilities for my family and me. This is my personal passion. I consider myself really happy now, because I’m doing what I always dreamed of doing.
EH: Which trends do you see in footwear for the future?
GS: A less-traditional division between classic and casual, and much more attention to details and quality. Value for money will be more and more important—even in high-end products—because people can recognize the true value of a product and are ready to pay if they are sure they are getting quality.
EH: Speaking of the future, what are you most excited about in Santoni’s upcoming spring collection?
GS: One of my favorite styles is the slipper with a double buckle. [It’s] a good example of how we combine a classic element, like the double buckle, to a very trendy shape. [Another] version—crocodile and colored by hand—is definitely a shoe for connoisseurs: super chic, effortless in the shape, precious in the material. This kind of combination is what we like, and what we can do very well! Or at least we hope so.
You might remember those as part of the Dr Martens X Pendleton collaboration from Fall 2012. And in case you forgot, well there they are, but even better, there’s more! Because there’s nothing quite like the second time around, the two brands are re-teaming to present a Fall ’13 collection that includes a traditional brogue shoe and an 8-eye boot. The exclusive Pendleton woven pattern, ‘Sante Fe Stripe’, makes its way onto this footwear with tan-coloured harvest leather and wool panelling on each side. Let’s have a look:
And here we find the campaign video:
These guys are dropping on 10/21 and you can get all the details here.
The fine people at Cole Haan wanted us to let you know that the whole “Friends and Family” Sale they’ve got going on from now until April 15th includes all of you lovely readers of the Essential Homme Magazine Blog. So here are the details: 30% off all full price items online or in the store. So let’s see…shoes, shoes and shoes—The Bergan Moc Oxford is perfect for spring, as is the Fire Island Boat Shoe, but then again you could go with the Air Madison slip-ons, perfect and comfortable formal shoes for any season. Then there’s what you should also do—with Mother’s and Father’s day just around the corner, we don’t have to tell you what that is. The sale code is after the jump.
What we love most about Alejandro Ingelmo shone through in his Fall 2013 presentation—his ability to transform footwear from anchor into the centerpiece of an entire look. Classic leather loafers with subtle brushed off-metallic sheen are the utmost in show-stopping formal chic and Ingelmo’s still finding new ways to make use of reflective materials in his sneakers. The collection was perfectly punctuated with neon and plexi-glass display boxes custom designed by Ingelmo, set atop a light instillation courtesy of artist Ivan Navarro.
You appreciate fine craftsmanship, comfort, getting to the point. But also, you have a thing for bright color and patterns(!). You, dear reader, are a fan of the ongoing footwear collaboration between The Generic Man and Comme Des Garçons SHIRT (even if you don’t yet know it, we promise). And images from the next bounty (the fourth such) have just come our way, so we’re doing the gracious thing and sharing. As in the past, the partnership consists of The Generic Man shoes designed in tandem by both companies. This time there are quirky renderings of The Wellington (an airy pair of canvas sneaks) featuring comic iconography and bubble letters. The Mohawk (a mid top moccasin) appears in tempered, but pleasing color combos (eggshell blue, rusty red, and moss green, the other dusty beige, charcoal, and shamrock green and the Wing-Tip gets some pastel treatment (with at least one resembling a desert-beach landscape). The collection will start rolling out in February at Comme Des Garçons stores worldwide.
A new shoe will be arriving in J Crew catalogues and jcrew.com by way of PF Flyers starting on February 15th. The two established American classics have teamed up to issue a new, uniquely blue, take on The All Court, a style based on archival PF Flyer footwear that ironically, has till now only been available in Japan. You’ll be able to snag yourself a pair for just $65 bucks.
