Combining Italian craftsmanship with responsible production, ESSEN THE LABEL launches a shoe that embodies simplicity.
March 2026
ESSEN THE LABEL, the brand founded in 2016 by Marre Muijs as a response to a fashion industry that produces too much and reflects too little, launches the Derby Driver.
The shoe is an evolution of the bestselling Foundation Flat: the same tailored fit, the same softness of full-grain lambskin lined with sheepskin, but in a contemporary lace-up silhouette. A flexible sole with signature rubber studs and a removable memory foam insole. A product designed to last, not to be replaced.
Each pair is handmade in Italy, in family-run workshops powered by solar energy. Production takes place in small batches or to order, reducing waste by up to 90%. This is not a marketing promise: it is an alternative industrial model to the dominant one.
Completing the picture is blockchain technology. A QR code is printed on every shoebox, allowing the entire supply chain to be traced: from the origin of the raw materials — LWG-certified leather — to the artisan workshop, right through to distribution. Unfiltered transparency.
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