Prior to his untimely passing in late November 2021, Virgil Abloh had a million different collaborations in the works. Most of it was stuff he'd been working on for months, a mix of passion projects and personal experiments for Off-White™, Louis Vuitton, and his own imprints.
Abloh's partnership with Prada Group-owned Church's was one such example, a footwear collaboration that'd been in development for future Off-White™ collections. Over the course of 2022, Abloh's various visions for the legacy shoemaker were have been issued as standalone drops, from the initial Burwood oxford to the very Abloh Meteor Consul, all leading up to the third Off-White™ x Church's drop.
This collaboration comprises two different shoe models, the Burwood Foam oxford and New Shannon Cut Lines derby, both of which Highsnobiety got in-hand to explore IRL.
Off-White™'s Burwood Foam ($1,720) is the more grabby of the two, in terms of visual presence. It feels satisfyingly beefy thanks to that massive, snub-nosed rubber sole but it's not clunky or burdensome.
The shoe is very much a statement, thanks to its mismatched outsole paneling and interwoven dual laces (the extra height doesn't hurt, either).
But, despite the Burwood Foam's in-your-face façade, it hides nifty details inside.
There's a stacked double tongue, for instance, made of two padded foam pieces that resemble a sneaker's padded throat.
This is key, as these layered tongues only add to the comfort level informed by Burwood Foam's plush leather upper, subtly making it feel more like a daily driver than a dress shoe.
As a bonus, that inimitable leather zip tie seen on all of the Off-White™ x Church's footwear. In-person, this thing feels really cool and, honestly, far more satisfying than the plastic ones attached to, say, Off-White™'s Nikes.
Compared to the Burwood Foam, Off-White™'s Shannon Cut Lines ($1,450) is relatively subdued, with a conventional derby blucher upper and sleek leather sole that tamp down the shoe's weight and profile.
But it takes on new proportions when viewed off-screen.
The Shannon Cut Lines plays a fun game with the eye when viewed up close, as you realize that the shoe is essentially naked on its upper aside from those high-contrast printed stitchmarks.
Together, the Burwood Foam and Shannon Cut Lines are quite a pair.
They're a little punkish, a little sophisticated, extremely well made, and, ultimately, perhaps the best-looking shoes that've come from the Off-White™ x Church's line thus far.
