It’s So Much More Than a Beaten-up Hiking Boot
Guidi and nonnative’s sturdy suede hiking boots have been bashed around a fair bit. And it shows.
The patchy discoloration on the classic metal-riveted hiking shoes is a result of Guidi’s proprietary tumbler-dyeing process, where finished footwear develops a richly layered color as it gets thrown around a tanning drum. This technique is a Guidi special, one that creates a patina distinct to the Italian shoemaker’s pricey footwear.
The nonnative boot’s “vintage khaki” suede upper is covered in white scuffs and dark stains. The paint on the Goodyear-welted midsole has been substantially chipped away at, and the metal hooks holding the laces are purposefully aged. The only part of the shoe that actually looks new is the Vibram sole, custom-made in a matching tan color to nonnative’s specifications.
Not every boot will necessarily be quite so battered, mind you; the nature of Guidi’s dyeing technique means every pair has a unique finish. And it’s those handwrought inconsistencies you’re paying big bucks for in Guidi’s Italian artisan-made shoes — this pair, dropping on January 31, is priced at ¥258,000 (around $1,690).
The boot slots in nicely amongst competitively distressed “new” Guidi shoes that menswear’s niche arbiters of taste keep cooking up.
The enigmatic Japanese menswear savant Comoli, for instance, added roughed-up suede to Guidi’s sneaker-boots in a recent collaboration, The Soloist took a similar route with its broken-in suede cowboy boots, and this is nonnative’s third “vintage khaki” Guidi boot collab in as many years. But still, none of those quite go to the pre-worn extremes of these hikers.
This is a “vintage” Guidi boot, and then some.
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