Veldskoen Shoes: soul of Africa

The circumstance in which the Veldskoen Shoes project comes to life is rather curious: In 2016, during a conversation about the Rio Olympic Games, the two founding partners Nick Dreyer and Ross Zondagh are disappointed that the South African Olympic team parades through the opening ceremony wearing inappropriate clothing to represent the nation. They therefore begin to think of an iconic South African garment for the athletes to wear in the future to better represent their country, and the choice falls on veldskoen. By adding a touch of color to the soles, stitching and laces, what is the distinctive look of Veldskoen today was born. The name itself is curious: the word “Veldskoen” was first documented by Dutch settlers arriving in southern Africa nearly 400 years ago and means “camp shoes.” However, according to the tribal folklore of the two main ethnic groups in Southern Africa, they were leather shoes, cut from a single skin, made and worn by tribes as early as 1,000 years earlier. Starting from the original design of these shoes, the brand’s signature product that we know today was born and has captured the hearts of not only the , but the world with some famous fans such as Ashton Kutcher, Prince Harry and Matthew McConaughey.