John Fluevog and his footwear designs have had a cult following ever since he first opened up his store in Vancouver in 1970 co-branded Fox and Fluevog with his ex-partner, Peter Fox. Today, Fluevog fanatics can be found in pockets within cities the world over who often compare their old Fluevog favorites (still worn with care and respect) to new styles that are must-haves of any decent collector. Like sneaker-freakers who are highly knowledgable about new styles and LTD drops hitting specialty boutiques around the world, there’s a similar subculture of Fluevog-fanatics. I am one of them, visiting the Melrose in Los Angeles and Seattle locations as often as possible and own about 15 pairs—a conservative amount considering the hipsters on-site at the boutique Apartment 3 event in a warehouse/loft/runway show October 25th in a darker corner of downtown Los Angeles.
Interestingly, we had also interviewed Fluevog at the Pool Fashion Trade show a month eariler where they were featuring their Disciples of Good collection of completely non-leather shoes with natural crepe soles. However in this collection strutting down the runway, styles were decidedly leather-infused including an audience favorite called the Lia—think riding boot with top light leathers, 11 eyelets and 8 speed hooks making for a very chic and comfortable boot. Other key looks included the duckies in wing-tipped black and white, extendo wing-tipped men’s collection, dark red women’s pumps, a new version on the classic cowboy boot, and a classic mid-calf-high turquoise blue boot.
While fashion runway shows are prevalent, footwear runway shows are not, so it was refreshing to actually attend a show and be concentrating on what’s on the models’ feet rather than bodies—although most of the models had amazingly fashionable clothing that complimented the footwear perfectly.
Check out the latest collection from Fluevog.
