May 31st. We were at the official opening of the first European Store of Fluevog in Amsterdam. The Rock’n Roll shoes around Amsterdam’s clock.
John Fluevog has come a long way since his humble beginnings in 1970 as a partner in the Vancouver shoe store, Fox and Fluevog. John Fluevog is a Canadian shoe designer. His shoes are noted for their progressive, art deco inspired styles. His shoes are designed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, but are made all over the world, including Portugal, Mexico, Peru, China and Vietnam. His shoes often include messages engraved into the soles, the most famous being from The Angel Family, whose soles read: Resists alkali, water, acid, fatigue and Satan.
Born and raised in Vancouver, John spent much of his youth at his father’s drive-in ice cream parlour. During this time, he developed a passion for cars, which in turn has provided inspiration for many of his shoe designs. As his company’s website declares, “When he’s drawing a shoe, he’s thinking about a car and, when he’s drawing a car, he’s thinking about a shoe” During the 1980s, Fluevog was the first to import Dr. Martens shoes into North America. By the 1990s, Fluevog had opened five privately owned and operated stores in Seattle, Vancouver, Boston, Toronto, and New York. His shoes began to appear in major magazines such as Vogue, in fashion shows for Anna Sui and Betsey Johnson, and upon the feet of celebrities such as Madonna and Lady Gaga.
Fluevog also created Open Source Footwear, an online site where anyone can submit shoe designs. If a submission is selected, the shoe is named after its creator. Other Fluevog collaboration designs have included a snowboarding boot with Ride Snowboards, a bicycling shoe with Race Face Bikes, a shoe with the Danielson Family, and a Riding boot designed with Courtney Taylor-Taylor of The Dandy Warhols.
Enjoy our reportage during the opening of the Amsterdam’s Store at Heiligeweg 37.
