"When I started working in our shoe factory at the age of 24, there were no shoes made of fantasy materials like these. As a kind of rebellious act, and next to all the regular shoes, we started using materials that were actually meant for women's shoes or luxurious bags. Over the years, this almost developed into its very own shoe segment. Nowadays, there are many brands and labels that totally overdo it using funny materials. I think most of these shoes are pretty ugly. They are often poorly produced and made of very cheap and simple materials, but they come with an unusual print that makes them "fun". For us, this abundance is one of the reasons to make fewer shoes of this type. The older I get, the more I value nice, well-made shoes without too many frills. The few 'fun shoes' we still make every season are therefore all very special. The materials are original, heavily reworked, often multi-layered and put together artfully. This material, for example, is not just a print. It is calf leather with a metallic finish. Not the cheap foil coating you often see, but metallic lacquer. A geometric relief print is embossed onto the leather. The small circular pattern is then etched away in some places using a laser technique. Then we apply a brown top coat by hand. This makes the etched areas darker, giving the metallic finish a beautiful vintage look. A real work of art!"