Post Sole Studios is embracing the outdoors for its latest laced-up collection
Images via Post Sole Studios
Words by Stephanie Chadwick
A collection about resilience.
Post Sole Studios has launched its latest collection of locally made shoes and it has upgraded all the classic footwear silhouettes you love. Envisage the ideal pair of knee-high lace-up boots or classic loafers with contrast stitching, and that’s Post Sole Studios Braced collection.
Founders of the Melbourne-based label Myra Spencer and Breeze Powell created Post Sole Studios after a long search for locally produced, high-quality and sustainable footwear. While their hunt to purchase locally made boots was unsuccessful, they’ve instead successfully founded a label to make them for themselves.
Keep up to date with ethical, Australian design over at our Fashion section.
Myra and Breeze consider themselves to be first and foremost shoemakers. Over time, the brand’s factory in Abbotsford, Melbourne has evolved from being a place of footwear manufacturing to becoming home and studio to the brand itself. This folding of production into brand (the label is synonymous with shoemaking) has gone on to inform and influence every aspect of Post Sole Studios. Each of the pair’s designs prioritises function and fit as much as form, while Myra and Breeze design every shoe with a specific purpose in mind.
“We want our shoes to have a purpose (or many purposes) and be wearable from day to night, from the factory to coffee with a friend. Our Braced collection, like all our collections, is a reflection of these values. We never incorporate a new style just for the sake of the collection,” they said.
View this post on Instagram
“Our Beat Boot is a great example of this. For us, it is the perfect flat boot, wearable for many occasions, for many people.” The style is a staple of the new collection; an ankle leather lace-up boot that takes cues from classic hiking styles and taps into the outdoorsy trend currently sweeping markets.
“On the other hand, the Braced Boot is a new design which is largely based off the Beat Boot, but we felt the need for something more refined – it sits higher up the leg, with a slimmer sole and without the hardware.”
The two founders confess that if they had to live in one Post Sole Studios style for the season, Breeze had dibs on the Braced Boot while Myra would opt for the Beat Boot. Personally, I’m going with a pair of Trail Hiker sandals in caramel croc paired with their citrus tartan socks (for a very low-key look of course).
Its Autumn/Winter collection was designed during the peak of Melbourne’s pandemic, which inspired the ongoing themes of resilience and adversity. Buckles and laces feature heavily as design elements, not only to dress our feet but to offer us security and help us brace for an unknown future. The collection also features a twist on classic leather loafers, sandals and boots, with the option for croc-effect leather and unexpected colours like olive, citrus or raspberry compote.
They’ve made it look easy but due to a lack of access to their factory during stage four restrictions, the Brace collection meant Post Sole Studios had to pivot and design remotely, like much of the fashion industry.
View this post on Instagram
Post Sole Studios manufacture their footwear in small quantities to avoid excess stock, using traditional shoe-making machines bought from the factory’s previous tenant. Through working closely and forming relationships with their local suppliers, they know exactly where each shoe component comes from, making Post Sole Studios a community affair.
“For us, this encapsulates how we design with intention at the forefront of our minds.”
For too long, the expert skills required to craft footwear – from the original design to the final product – have been lost to offshore producers. It’s clear that Myra and Breeze are dual-handedly reviving shoe-making in Melbourne, one pair of boots at a time.
You can stalk Post Sole Studios full range of footwear here.
Liked this? You’ll love these...
