Gourmet

HS: The shirts you are making, your using a Champion blank. You’ve already talked about hip-hop and remixing. Obviously there’s a basketball influence in the shoes. A lot of people know seem to be thinking, we’ve gone through cycles of the ‘80s as a fashion influence, and it really looks like the time for people to think about the stuff they grew up with in the mid-90s - the heavy champion crew, tee shirt.

Greg: Yeah, I think the same thing. The shit hit the fan when it came to so many styles and trends. So many things are overdone. At the end of the day, it’s a t-shirt. If we’re not going to be a clothing brand and make it from scratch, we’re making branding t-shirts. Let it be what it is. Quality is good with Champion, we’ve always been fans. Its like a generic surplus store kind of thing. We’d rather go with a quality body. Let the brand logo to speak for what it is on a branded tee. We’re a shoe company, we’re offering a branded t-shirt, and its on a quality body that everyone knows. The two go hand in hand.

HS: What are some of your favorite models for holiday?

Jon: I guess my favorite for holiday is the velvet chukka boot, called the Otto. It’s made out of fine, kind of Paul Smith, velvet. Its sort of homage to a fine men’s tuxedo slipper, but as a chukka with our air bag outsole.

Greg: The Otto velvet, I’m really fond of that. We also did our classic Quattro style in some heavy weight boot leathers. Nicely tanned leather, and in that one shoe it came out really well with the color blending with the style. Another to mention is the Novo style, which might have the most athletic appeal with the velcro strap. We did that in an oiled black leather, which came together really well. Those three styles.

HS: Tell me a little about the decision to use the air bag sole.

Jon: The decision to use the air bag sole, was more due to the fact that our manufacturing partners had the capability to do that. It was more of a reverse inspiration. Obviously, Nike made those visible air bags popular, and our manufacturer can make them.

HS: Just want to end with a quick thought about the Duck boot. It’s such a departure from the initial offerings and even the other shoes in the current line up.

Greg: Yes and no. It’s still very core, very New England, and very East Coast. It came down to timing, and also from a technical standpoint the last and shape of the shoe mirrored well with the outsole that we have with the air bag. It was really about having something very authentic, in the duck boot, and giving it our twist, which comes with the airbag. It was very pure. We felt that it sat well within our line and our aesthetic. And then, its the fall season, so we tried to make a more seasonal related shoe. It felt like us and a lot came down to timing. And, the shoe just did well with the airbag and it was enough of a statement to get people to react to it.