THE TASTEMAKER & THE SHOEMAKER

When Yukihiro Sugawara, editor-in-chief of LAST magazine, the bible for benchmade and fine shoemaking in Japan, visited ECCO's international design studio in Denmark, the experience challenged long-held notions of what premium men's shoe construction is all about. As befitting his stature in this rarified domain, he was treated to an exclusive preview of the new ECCO VITRUS™ MONDIAL range and how ECCO has been able to merge cutting-edge innovation with old-world craftsmanship.

Yukihiro-san is a man who is notoriously hard to impress, but following his emersion in the world of the VITRUS™ MONDIAL, his conclusion was that the range may just represent "the ultimate production method."

Yukihiro Sugawara homes in on each stitch and brogueing perforation when assessing a dress shoe. He does so to fulfil the desire of every dress-shoe 'otaku' — the Japanese term for a highly focused aficionado — in every issue of LAST. Formal leather shoes are examined, deconstructed and glorified in loving depth as he uses his enthusiasm and expertise to pull back and consider both the history and the evolution of iconic silhouettes. "When we look at shoes, we don't just look at them as they are today, we also think about their histories, origins and the roots that give them their significance," Sugawara said of LAST, which has a loyal following of people who are unapologetically passionate about shoes. In addition to editing LAST, Sugawara advises the country's most elite fashion stores on what to present within their formal or traditional shoe departments, making him a highly influential voice in Japan.

One of the reasons to admire the ECCO VITRUS™ MONDIAL, Sugawara said, is because of the innovative way it is engineered with FLUIDFORM™ Direct Comfort Technology. While supplying a finely tuned balance of cushioning and rebound, and a natural fit and feel, FLUIDFORM™ also creates an integral and durable bond between the sole and the upper without stitching or gluing. With the global launch of the VITRUS™ MONDIAL and the introduction of a full leather outsole, ECCO VITRUS™ INTARSIO, these features have now been harnessed and streamlined into the lower-profile, more elongated and sleeker silhouettes that represent a whole new standard for European dress shoes.

"WHEN WE LOOK AT SHOES, WE DON'T JUST LOOK AT THEM AS THEY ARE TODAY, WE ALSO THINK ABOUT THEIR HISTORIES, ORIGINS AND THE ROOTS THAT GIVE THEM THEIR SIGNIFICANCE."

YUKIHIRO SUGAWARA - EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF LAST, JAPAN

Authenticity matters to ECCO, just as it does to Sugawara and his readership. His deep dive into ECCO's culture included touring ECCO Leather's advanced development tannery in the Netherlands as well as a visit to one of ECCO's shoe manufacturing hubs in Portugal. Through these direct experiences, Sugawara was able to gain a deeper understanding of how the VITRUS™ MONDIAL, and other ECCO shoes, are created. In Sugawara's expert opinion, formal shoes can reflect a balance of craftsmanship and innovation. After all, he points out: "Craftsmen use technology in a way that works for them." Indeed, Sugawara can see that, in the VITRUS™ MONDIAL range, ECCO has created a dress shoes that elegantly blends traditional aesthetics, authentic design and exquisite finishing and detail with state-of-the-art technology to produce something that will turn the heads of even the most discerning dress-shoe connoisseur.

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TAILORED
FOR STYLE

ENGINEERED FOR COMFORT

Blending iconic elegance with innovative comfort, ECCO VITRUS™ MONDIAL is a premium European dress shoe, engineered with ECCO FLUIDFORM™ Direct Comfort Technology.

Hidden, futuristic innovations inside a new dress shoe help to give it its timeless, hand-crafted aesthetic. In a breakthrough for men's formal footwear, the ECCO VITRUS™ MONDIAL is the first shoe in the VITRUS™ family to combine the brand's comfort technolgies with a full leather outsole, making this the most elegant of revolutions. That outsole adds to the classic, bench-made appeal of a shoe with a sleek silhouette and sophisticated uppers fashioned from luxuriously rich ECCO leathers. That aesthetic can be enjoyed in ECCO's signature lightweight comfort, which brings the cushioning, rebound and shock absorption of a casual shoe. Wearing the VITRUS™ MONDIAL, modern businessmen no longer have to put up with the compromises that have typically been associated with a formal silhouette, such as a lack of comfort, weight and having to break a shoe in.

ECCO VITRUS™ MONDIAL ECCO VITRUS™ MONDIAL 523614-01482