Labels to Watch: Avant-garde fashion footwear

Shoe styles usually focus on a simple silhouette and a conservative
look, in the menswear sector in particular. Little colour and not standing
out seems to be the preferred approach, regardless of whether it is a pair
of sneakers, brogues or boots. However, the following brands have proven
that things can be done differently, with their unique silhouettes that
definitely stand out from the crowd.

Studio Hagel

Studio Hagel was founded in 2015. It is an experimental shoe design
studio that develops and designs collections based on a concept that can be
used multifunctionally. Hagel has worked for major sportswear and
streetwear brands such as Off-White and Puma as well as luxury brands such
as Coach, Moncler, Valentino and Botter.

The Amsterdam studio led by Mathieu Hagelaars now also offers two of its
own sneaker styles, whose conceptual silhouettes make the shoe a key piece.
“In everything we do, we don’t settle for the ordinary,” explains
Hagelaars. “High quality” and “innovative sole technology” play a role for
the styles that are developed and manufactured at Ecco in Portugal.

Demon Footwear

Demon Footwear was founded in 1963 by Girolamo Deon in Montebelluna,
Italy, and revitalised in 2020 with a new vision by grandson Alberto Deon.
The brand is still at home in the region, which has a long tradition in the
production of mountain sports shoes, and also produces its modern styles
here. The brand can only do some of the steps necessary in Montebelluna
because only a few specialists have this knowledge and can carry them out,
explains Alberto Deon. “It is not general knowledge; very often there are
at least two or three steps that must be carried out by hand with great
care.” The materials for the styles also come from the region and are
otherwise used for high-tech hiking shoes – the origin of the brand.

The technical know-how is deeply rooted and meets an avant-garde
approach that gives the rustic hiking boots a fashionable component with
new shapes. The angular silhouettes meet mostly dark colours and rough
surfaces, which, in combination with the brand DNA, bring out dark
vibes.

“I took over the brand founded by my grandfather in 1963 to create
completely innovative shoes, a mix of design, architecture and
post-industrial decadentism while evoking the ancestors: a kind of
‘post-internet archaeology’ built in a pre-existing archive of materials
and craft techniques, recovering archetypes and essential forms and
reshaping them according to a new terminology dictated by new technologies,
through the most extreme experiments that liberate the Italian aesthetic
from the nostalgic image: Made in Italy can be ultra-contemporary – has to
be,” sums up Deon.

He used to work as an architect for the architectural firm Claudio
Silvestrin Architects and at that time was involved in projects such as the
Yeezy Campus, a ranch owned by artist Kanye West in the US state of
Wyoming, as well as Giada and Armani stores.

Rombaut

Rombaut is a vegan-oriented shoe and accessories brand that uses
plant-based materials, recycled fibres and faux leather – including apples.
Belgian Mats Rombaut, whose label is currently based in Paris, finds
inspiration in cultural stereotypes, which he uses when crossing classic
shoe types. The silhouette of a sneaker blurs into that of a cowboy boot
and a racing bike shoe meets a formal shoe.

Virón

Paris-based label Virón also uses vegan materials for its boots. The
leather alternatives that the brand uses are made from apples and corn that
come as waste from the food industry. It also utilises materials made from
recycled synthetic products to minimise the use of virgin materials.

The brand wants to promote the circularity of its products through its
own recycling program “Loop”, in which customers can send back their used
shoes and these will then be processed into new shoe soles for the brand.

This article was originally published on http://FashionUnited.de
. Edited and translated by Simone
Preuss.