THE ORIGINAL HYBRID: THE POSTMAN SHOE

ON THE POSTMAN SHOE'S PLACE IN BRITISH FOOTWEAR HISTORY AND WHAT IT TEACHES ABOUT FUNCTION AND FORM

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE HYBRID SNEAKER TODAY, WE TEND TO LOOK FORWARD. BUT THE CONCEPT HAS DEEPER ROOTS THAN MOST RECOGNISE. THE POSTMAN SHOE, A CLASSICALLY BRITISH DESIGN FROM THE MID TWENTIETH CENTURY, WAS SOLVING THE SAME PROBLEM DECADES BEFORE THE TERM HYBRID EXISTED.

WHAT THE POSTMAN SHOE WAS

THE POSTMAN SHOE EMERGED FOR THOSE WHO SPENT LONG HOURS ON THEIR FEET. CLOSE FITTING LEATHER UPPER. ROBUST CONSTRUCTION. A SOLE THAT PROVIDED GENUINE SUPPORT OVER DISTANCE WITHOUT SACRIFICING THE PROFESSIONAL APPEARANCE REQUIRED BY THE ROLE. FORM AND FUNCTION IN DIRECT CONVERSATION. NEITHER COMPROMISED BY THE OTHER.

THE DESIGN WAS NOT COMPLICATED. IT DID NOT NEED TO BE. THE BRIEF WAS SPECIFIC: A SHOE THAT PERFORMS CORRECTLY UNDER SUSTAINED DAILY WEAR AND LOOKS CORRECT IN A PROFESSIONAL CONTEXT. EVERY ELEMENT OF THE DESIGN SERVED THAT BRIEF. NOTHING MORE.

WHAT IT TEACHES

THE POSTMAN SHOE TEACHES THE SAME LESSON THAT THE BROGUE TEACHES. THAT THE MOST ENDURING DESIGNS ARE FUNCTIONAL RESPONSES TO SPECIFIC PROBLEMS. THAT THE AESTHETIC LOGIC BECOMES VISIBLE ONCE THE FUNCTION IS NO LONGER QUESTIONED. THAT DECORATION FOR ITS OWN SAKE IS NOT THE SAME AS DESIGN.

AT 1812, THE POSTMAN SHOE IS AN ANCESTOR OF WHAT WE MAKE. THE SAME PRINCIPLES. APPLIED TO A CONTEMPORARY SILHOUETTE. PRACTICAL CONSTRUCTION. CONSIDERED PROPORTION. MATERIALS CHOSEN FOR PERFORMANCE AND DURABILITY. SOME OF THE BEST IDEAS ARE NOT NEW. THEY ARE SIMPLY WELL UNDERSTOOD.