It would be impossible for me to cover all the brands I saw during Pitti Uomo 92. I will instead focus on the brands that caught my attention.
Given the fact that I used to work in the luxury shoe industry, I always associated the brand SWIMS with galoshes. For those of you not familiar with galoshes, they are basically rubber gloves for your dress shoes. They protect the upper and soles of the shoe from the elements. They are especially useful during the winter when salt and water on the road can be detrimental to the life of a dress shoe.
SWIMS was founded in Oslo, Norway in 2006 with the intention of refreshing the Galosh given Norway’s cold and very snowy winters. SWIMS was acquired by Differential Brands Group in 2016.
According to SWIMS, the SS18 collection "is a celebration of the Modern Good Life - a juxtaposition between contemporary metropolitan life and untouched nature in Scandinavia."
It might take someone a while to realise but the summer collection does make sense and is still in line with the SWIMS philosophy. The galosh was designed to be used in the rain and snow during the colder months of the year. Now SWIMS wants to create clothing, footwear , accessories to be used in the water during the warmer months.
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| Swimming trunks and beach bags on display |
SWIMS showcased a number of their new garments, accessories, etc. but its the footwear that really captured my attention. They were showing off a variety of loafers and boat shoes in the centre of the booth.
The first pair of shoes were SWIMS answer to a modern boat shoe. They came with non marking natural rubber soles and a nylon mesh fabric. The rope around the shoe is adjustable for a better and tighter fit. They are also completely machine washable and dry extremely quickly.
Next they showed off their higher priced luxury loafer which came with suede detailing in addition to the natural rubber sole and nylon mesh. Swims also used a more ergonomic insole with arch support. this particular loafer was targeted at people that wanted a comfortable and light walking shoe with the extra touch of luxury with the leather detailing.
They also showed us their loafers with soles that are designed for extra ventilation. These perforations also allow for water to escape through the sole after the shoe has been submerged in water.
The final footwear they showed us were their new sneakers that came in grey, navy and white. The white sneakers on display were very stylish,minimalist and extremely light. They were available with either a blue or orange trim. The colour trim adds enough detailing to the shoe to make it stand out from the rest of the white sneakers on offer on the market. The sneakers were equipped with their natural rubber soles and a nylon mesh upper.
I am extremely interested to see what SWIMS does in the future for their FW18 collection. Scandinavia is known for their outerwear and utilitarian clothing. it will be interesting to see how they implement this lifestyle and philosophy in their next collection.
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