Schier Vellies

Schier Shoes has been making velskoen out of Swakopmund, Namibia since 1935. 8 guys make them completely by hand and turn out 20 pairs of vellies a day. of course if you’re a south african you’ll know velskoene well as we all grew up with them – you probably call them vellies or skoens or veldskoene (as i always have). this humble shoe has been enjoying a  fashion revival in the past few years, popping up in all our department stores and being worn by the young & hip. i suppose vellies are to south africans what clogs are to the swedes – people will keep wearing them whether they are cool or not.

Velskoen, pronounced “fell-skoon” and known colloquially as “vellies,” are the ancestor of the modern-day desert boot. Vellies were first made in the 1600s, inspired by the footwear of the Khoikhoi tribe and crafted using raw materials. Later, our vellies were adapted by British travellers, packaged and renamed to be what we now know as desert boots.

Schier recently collaborated with Opening Ceremony to produce some great limited edition vellies that are accompanied by an amazing lookbook shot by photographer Jason Eric Hardwick (can’t wait to see the entire thing!) …they’ve also brought out a neon capped version which is just too cool. you can order vellies in all sorts of different colours & hides from their website.

all images courtesy of Schier & Jason Eric Eardwick