Crepe expectations

“I guess the hardest thing in the world is to create a new shoe,” says footwear guru Christian Kimber, a Brit from East Sussex now residing in the sunnier climes of Melbourne.

Kimber has collaborated with Antonio Ciongoli, a name those already familiar with this blog will know well. Ciangoli is the brains behind Isaia’s younger sibling Eidos Napoli and the pair have teamed up to produce the Aperture sneaker.

“Antonio and I worked on the idea of mixing what is Antonio’s favourite sneaker the DC Lynx (below far left), as he is a keen skater, and one of mine, the Superga (below centre).”

“This collection was based on Robert Cappa, the iconic photographer but also perhaps one of the coolest dudes to ever live. He was friends with Picasso, the list goes on. The collection was based on his life and focused on Naples in the 1940’s – which was not the most wonderful of places at the time. Perhaps slightly Military inspired to an extent, but Antonio doesn’t like the idea of copying military clothing, as these are uniforms to be earned.

Clothing and shoes he might have worn out of action. Greens and grey, navies and browns, burgundies and creams were the colours we were working with. The sneakers are handmade in my factory near Florence and the crepe sole is hand cut for each pair. Using crepe made them a little more raw and classic to me. I spent a long time designing and sourcing the most unique sneaker materials, shape I could.”

“Using crepe made them a little more raw and classic to me. I spent a long time designing and sourcing the most unique sneaker materials, shape I could.”

I have been telling my friends if a DC Lynx and a Superga had a baby, but the baby grew up and was extremely sophisticated, studied art history, but would still beat the shit out of you”, says the Indiana Jones of footwear. “Overall, I think they are killer sneakers.”

LINKS: Christian Kimber launches his online store in May 2015. Sign up for updates in the meantime at:
christiankimber.com

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