GOOD FOR THE SOLE
From self-doubt to success in shoe business
John Fluevog’s business is one built more upon careful intuition than careful planning.
“I built the business on feeling. One hundred per cent,” the Canadian footwear designer says with a soft smile. “Other than the fact that I thought that the brand was worthy of being more global — I always did think that — I’ve never had immediate plans. I’ve always thought that, if I have these really hard-and-fast plans, not getting there will make me depressed. And, I don’t like that feeling. So, it’s just been really organic. Everything has just sort of happened.”
The approach appears to have worked.
For nearly 50 years Fluevog has been churning out unique footwear designs that don’t adhere to normal fashion trends or style moments.
“I’m not chasing current fashion — that would be so exhausting to do that, ugh — and not only that, it’s kind of like catching soap in a bathtub. You can’t keep hold of it. Once you grab it, it’s gone,” he says.
Instead, the 71-year-old has become renowned for his recognizable footwear styles, which he describes as being, “interesting, soulful, original, unique, from the heart — human.”
It’s this element of intimacy — of putting a little bit of himself into each and every shoe style — that has earned the John Fluevog brand a dedicated legion of fans and followers who wear his quirky designs with pride.
“Basically, it boils down to that I threw my humanity out there. I didn’t do it in a quote ‘business’ sense. I did it because it felt good to me and I enjoyed it and I like the things that I did,” he says. “Life is hard. Right? Life sucks sometimes. And, if we can buy a product that makes us feel more human or makes us feel more connected to something ... it’s not just the shoes. It’s the messages and the stories. It’s the whole thing.
“I just put myself out there and people attached themselves to it.”
While Fluevog admits his approach to design — creating styles that interest and excite him rather than ones he knows reflect broader trend interests — means his footwear designs “are not always spot on the moment.” But he’s not overly concerned about that. In fact, he’s not concerned at all.
“I put out some styles that I knew were marginal, that I knew would not appeal to too many people. And then I also put out styles where I actually excluded people, and I knew that I was. Things like that,” he says. “But, many times, the shoes that I really like that don’t sell really well, they’ll sit on the shelf and I’ll put them on sale. And then I’ll look at them five, 10 years later, and they’re the ones that, when seen without the lens of current time, are the most interesting and fun and significant, actually.”
One shoe design Fluevog is particularly proud of from his archives is the recognizable Grand National Boot, a wedge-heel design with a latticework of laces and sleek material.
“It’s probably my favourite design piece,” Fluevog says of the style. “They’re very primally sexual. They look almost like a horse’s hoof on your feet.”
The designer will be re-releasing the beloved archived style next year in celebration of his 50th year in business. The milestone is also being marked by the company with the release of a new book, John Fluevog: 50 Years of Unique Soles for Unique Souls (Life Tree Media; $65). In the hardcover book, Fluevog shares the history of his business, from its earliest days to today.
While celebrating Fluevog’s formidable successes in the industry, it also unflinchingly shines a spotlight on its failures. It was an element of his business story that Fluevog felt an essential side to share.
Looking back, Fluevog says his business has been as much about his own growth as it has been about creating shoes.
“I didn’t start designing shoes until my mid-30s, because I didn’t think I could,” he recalls. “I’m dyslexic, I didn’t do well in school, I never went to university, I’ve never been to design school. I was just like a goofy kid.
“To find out over the years that, ‘Hey, I can do this’ — it had a personal level of satisfaction.”
His story of self-doubt and success, he says, just might provide an important reminder to people about themselves.
“All of us, within us, we’re all creative. We’re all made very creatively. And I didn’t — so I can therefore assume that other people don’t — understand how original and creative they are,” he says.
“They are made uniquely. I was made uniquely, in my weird way, and I never liked it. I thought, ‘ Well, somebody ’s made a mistake here.’ When, actually, there wasn’t a mistake made.
“I’m fine. And want to say to other people that they’re fine.
“And, if you’re going through a really hard time, it’s fine. It’s going to be fine.”