I picked up a pair of these wicked tobe sneakers on the weekend, and I was super impressed. I had seen a bit of hype about them from a few people, so had high expectations. I am also notoriously picky when it comes to shoes. They definitely delivered.
They have got a whole lot of stuff right, including of course making some killer shoes. Most importantly though I think they have woven their story into their shoes. They are telling their story, and encouraging tobe wearers to tell it to others. A couple of examples:
- Each pair of shoes comes with a number stamped on each of the shoes: 64 on the left (New Zealand’s international calling prefix), and 81 on the right (the year that the brothers behind the project were born – I think).
- The tounge is a whole grid of numbers of which you can choose some (or none) to punch out. For example, you could punch out the date you bought them, your birthday, your girlfriends birthday (they tried to convince me this was a great idea), or some kind of pattern. It’s a nice little way to customise them, and a great little conversation starter when you are showing them off to your friends.
They have also put together some awesome photography and promo videos for their launch, like the one below.
Their launch collection comes in three styles, the 1.6 (kind of a sky top), the 1.0 (mid) and 0.6 (low). They each come in a couple of different colourways, and are all constructed from beautiful Whanganui leather.
I am stoked to see such great design, and such a genuine, well thought out and implemented brand story coming out of NZ. You should definitely buy some.
