John Fluevog Shoes, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn NY

John Fluevog (born 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

shoe A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot. They are often worn with a sock. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration and fashion. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture t ...

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

and businessperson. In 1970, he and a co-worker Peter Fox began their own shoe store in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. The shoes are described as "progressive,

art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

" inspired. The company claims that the shoes are designed in

, and manufactured in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

according to the company's website. The shoes often include messages engraved into the soles, the most famous being from The 7th Heaven Family, whose Angel Soles read: ''Resists alkali, water, acid, fatigue and Satan''.

Career

Born and raised in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, Fluevog 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. He began his career working for Sheppard's Shoes in Vancouver. In 1970, he joined forces with Peter Fox to start their own shoe store in Vancouver's

Gastown Gastown is the original settlement that became the core of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and a national historic site and a neighbourhood in the northwest section of the Downtown Eastside, adjacent to Downtown Vancouver. Its hi ...

. The partnership, known as "Fox and Fluevog", lasted over ten years before the two split in 1981. In 1985, Fluevog opened his own store in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

. During the 1980s, Fluevog store was the first to import

Dr. Martens Dr. Martens, also commonly known as Doc Martens, Docs or DMs, is a German-founded British footwear and clothing brand, headquartered in Wollaston in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England. Although famous for its footwear, Dr ...

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 magazines such as ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'', in fashion shows for

Anna Sui Anna Sui (; born August 4, 1964) is an American fashion designer. She was named one of the "Top 5 Fashion Icons of the Decade", and in 2009 earned the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (C ...

and

Betsey Johnson Betsey Johnson (born 1942) is an American fashion designer best known for her feminine and whimsical designs. Many of her designs are considered "over the top" and embellished. She also is known for doing a cartwheel ending in a split at the ...

, and worn by celebrities such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and

Lady Miss Kier Kierin Magenta Kirby (aka Lady Miss Kier) is an American singer, songwriter, DJ, designer, fashion icon, and activist. During her career, Lady Miss Kier has been the vocalist for the band Deee-Lite, a disc jockey, and solo songwriter. She support ...

. By the end of the 1990s, Fluevog had stores in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

also. These were followed in the 2000s by stores in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, and a new flagship store in Gastown. As of April 2015 there were 19 Fluevog stores in North America.

"Green philosophy"

As part of Fluevog'
green philosophy
when Fluevog opened his new Gastown store, he moved his design office into the store location so that customers could watch the design team in action from the first floor showroom. By creating desks out of scaffolding, tables out of fallen old growth oak trees and pipes salvaged from the

Alaskan Pipeline The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an oil transportation system spanning Alaska, including the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of ...

, and using recycled carpets and other various cast-off items, John designed an eco-friendly workspace. Fluevog "Angel" soles are resoleable and made from

hevea ''Hevea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, with about ten members. It is also one of many names used commercially for the wood of the most economically important rubber tree, '' H. brasiliensis''. The genus is n ...

tree latex, a natural latex harvested in

. Some styles have been made using vegetable tanned leathers. Fluevog has also released remakes of successful styles using

hemp Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial or medicinal use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest growing plants o ...

instead of leather, making the shoes

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...

. Vietnamese, Cambodian and Burmese human rights records have been the subject of criticism by the United Nations, Amnesty International and others; latex and rubber growers in these countries subject workers to extremely low wages, in violation of minimum wage laws, and even illegally occupy thousands of hectares of forest while removing indigenous people.

Design collaborations

In 2002, Fluevog created an online site where anyone can submit shoe designs. If a submission is selected, the shoe is named after its creator. As of April 2015, there were fifteen open source submissions manufactured. 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 Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Bro ...

, and a

Riding boot A riding boot is a boot made to be used for horse riding. The classic boot comes high enough up the leg to prevent the leathers of the saddle from pinching the leg of the rider, has a sturdy toe to protect the rider's foot when on the ground and ...

designed with

Courtney Taylor-Taylor Courtney A. Taylor (born July 20, 1967), known as Courtney Taylor-Taylor, is an American singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon. He is the lead singer and guitarist of alternative rock band The Dandy Warhols, a band he co-founded. Taylor-Taylor ...

The Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford ...

. In 2007 after a spontaneous performance in the Vancouver storefront,

Perry Farrell Perry Farrell (born Peretz Bernstein; March 29, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the frontman of the alternative rock band Jane's Addiction. Farrell created the touring festival Lollapalooza as part (one of the ...

Jane's Addiction Jane's Addiction is an American rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1985. The band consists of vocalist Perry Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. Jane's Addiction was one of the first bands from t ...

, gravitated toward the store's women's heels. Inspired by the performance, Fluevog designed a 2.5" men's high heeled boot named "Perry", which was manufactured in blue faux-crocodile, black snake, and mirror silver leathers for Fluevog's Fall '08 line.

Clients

Fluevog has gained fans all over the world who have become known as "Fluevogers". Some notable fans include

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

, who wore a pair of Fluevog's Mini "lover boots" on her first day as co-host on '' The View'',

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

, and actor

Masi Oka is a Japanese actor, producer, and digital effects artist who became widely known for starring in NBC's ''Heroes'' as Hiro Nakamura and in CBS's ''Hawaii Five-0'' as Doctor Max Bergman. Early life Oka was born in Tokyo, Japan, to Setsuko Oka. Hi ...

who was seen wearing Fluevogs on many episodes of NBC's ''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

''.

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American rock duo from Detroit formed in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (songwriter, vocals, guitar, piano, and mandolin) and Meg White (drums and vocals). After releasing several singles and three albums with ...

own custom red and white Fluevogs. Amanda Palmer has said that she admires his designs, and wears his shoes to advertise his merchandise.

Footnotes

External links