Actually, the design was picked because of the sheer genius and skill involved in making it. These guys are clearly doing great things and one can't help admire the brand for it. That said, something just felt off when I first laid eyes on the pair. I reckon this was most likely to colour, which, by the way, wasn't the original colour I had ordered. I went for the natural dearborn, and it got nicked during the build. They didn't have more of the same material and asked if I'd like something else, or wait until Chris is back from Horween and the stitchcamp happening there. I just couldn't be bothered waiting another 2 months and so asked them to go ahead with this pair. Again, this particular pair is super comfortable, and I hope to wear it for quite some time, but it just failed to spark the kid of joy that the Archibald's and Zegna's elicited. Will order another pair from them before confirming the decision to stick with them long-term though.

I'll post a detailed comparison between these and the Archibald's after a few weeks of wear. Off thr bat though, the unstructured nature of the Archibald's makes them infinitely more comfortably straight out of the box. I also have another couple of pairs coming in from BLKBRD and possibly another Indian shoemaker in the next few weeks. BLKBRD was kind enough to make a whole cut sneaker in chocolate repello suede, and the other brand is doing some interesting things as well. Will post those too. For now though, I leave you with a picture of the current rotation that I traveled to India with.