The expertise and craft that goes into making shoes is a sliding scale. At one end is the mass-produced stuff most of the world has owned at one time or another. At the total opposite end of the scale is Meanforme. Having launched to much acclaim last year, they’re now ready to hit us with a new style – the Hipswell.
Their second boot launch, it’s the product of not just 6 months of development, but many years of experience of the Meanforme founder Steve Tuite. His exacting eye is at the heart of every shoe Meanforme releases, with wear tests also being carried out to ensure quality and comfort.
The handcrafted nature of these shoes is a big part of their pull. Each pair of soles takes 30 mins to form into shape by hand, by a process of heating, chilling and pulling into shape. The soles are sewn onto the upper using a traditional sidewall stitch method to ensure the sole can flex and twist and stay firmly in place.
In all, these are a throwback in many ways, anti-commercial in that the time it takes to make them means they cannot be mass-produced without making the price prohibitive. That makes them naturally limited.
Releasing this Friday 1st March, the Hipswell will be available in Khaki Suede and Maple Suede, while the Hipswell EMB will come in Taupe Suede and Chestnut Suede, with attractive embroidery pattern on the collar.
Set a reminder and put some cash aside for Friday. We cannot endorse these enough.
Available at Meanforme and Hip from 10am, Friday 1st March.
