Leeds

Leeds: industrial, vibrant, modern. This shoe is born of that urban energy. Decisive in character, functional at heart. It powers every step with strength and style, without giving up lightness. Because some cities never stop… and neither do you.

This boot is made for walking a lot around the city in winter without having to change footwear halfway through the day. Short shaft, four pairs of large metal eyelets and a six-centimetre lugged platform. The Shinny finish gives it a tight gloss, nearer to soft patent than to matt leather, and it draws a line of light across the creases of the instep every time the foot bends. Black laces and the black block of the sole frame it above and below. It is colour, but the kind you wear on a Tuesday.

Move Me
Look at the front of the sole: the grooves open exactly where the foot bends as it pushes off. With six centimetres of platform underneath, that bend decides whether the boot follows the stride or cuts it short. Softlight gives way at that point and the foot completes the full movement, toes included. After a long day and a fair number of stairs, the difference shows up as accumulated fatigue.

Materials and construction
The Softlight sole is the part that adds the most bulk and the least weight; the deep lugs are what bite when the pavement is wet. Above it, the 360º Stitched construction runs a visible seam around the entire perimeter, joining upper and sole. The upper is Nappa Shinny, a full-grain leather with a glossy finish that wipes clean with a damp cloth and takes badly to too much cream. Inside, 100% microfibre lining and a removable insole, with chrome-free tanning on the part that touches the foot. The zip sits on the inner face of the shaft, so the bow is tied once and stays as you left it. Heel height 6 cm, slope 1.5 cm.