Those pungent Italian aromas you’re currently quaffing aren’t coming from a big pot of ragu simmering on a distant stove, they’re courtesy of these 2706 OG shoes from Superga.
Due to sepia-tinted memories of holiday-making in The Boot as a young buck, OP boss hog Steve Sanderson was immediately drawn to these: “For me, Superga and Italian design in general is really good at offering affordable, every-man designs, without dipping in quality. The Italians have a socialist sort-of approach to design. When you think about Italy, your mind might jump to the really high level design stuff, like Ferraris and exotic fashion houses, but I think they excel when they’ve made things a bit more democratic. Not just in sportswear terms either – you need look only to the kind-of cars Italy was producing in the 60s, 70s and 80s to see this. The Fiat Supermirafiori was like a family car, but it’d have really nice little design touches – still sporty, but with an added comfort element – like the velour interiors. That’s what I see in these – it’s still that classic Superga flavour, but the comfort element has been ramped up a few notches. The original, to me at least, might’ve been a little bit slim, a little small-looking on the foot, like it’d been on keto or something. This one has bulked up – it’s been to the gym, ate some carbonara and put on a few pounds in the right places.”
The soffrito in this foot-based meal is still the potent blend of a low-profile, intensely-wearable design and canvas cotton, but Superga have dashed a few zesty flavour-boosters in for good measure – most notably the higher rubber foxing (a bit similar to Converse 70s or Vans Anaheim). This provides some much-needed body to the proverbial dish, making ‘em far stouter than Superga’s usual output, while still retaining that el classico Mediterranean piquancy our taste-buds never tire of.
Anyway, we’ll drop the cooking analogies before we end up sounding like gastronomical maniacs and round this up by saying these shoes are mega, and you – yes, you! – can snag a pair at 10:00am on Thursday the 26th of August. In the meantime, have a look at these photos we shot in a real-deal Italian eatery.
Big thanks to Vito, Franco and the rest of the gang at Benvenuti in Hazel Grove for their hospitality and the top-tier scran.
When you think about Italy, your mind might jump to the really high level design stuff, like Ferraris and exotic fashion houses, but I think they excel when they’ve made things a bit more democratic.
The Fiat Supermirafiori was like a family car, but it’d have really nice little design touches – still sporty, but with an added comfort element – like the velour interiors. That’s what I see in these.
Thursday the 26th of August - pop it in your calendars.