Break the laws of leather shoes without breaking the shoes themselves.

Living in Japan, I’ve really come to appreciate slip-on shoes during the numerous times I’ve had to quickly get in and out of them in all kinds of situations, from restaurants to schools. However, going full slip-on does tend to limit the styles available, especially in high-stakes formal situations like weddings and bail hearings.

Not willing to accept such limits are professional-clothing brand WWS and Asics’ formalwear division Texcy Luxe, who have teamed up to create what they are calling Borderless Genuine Leather Shoes.

These shoes resemble any other pair of leather dress shoes, but the heel portion is specially designed to be soft and flexible so you can squish it right down and slide your foot in easily without worrying about deforming or cracking it.

▼ Look at him go!

Now before you go getting any ideas from that gif. Those heels are still made of leather, so you still shouldn’t walk around like that, or else they’ll fade or discolor. Nevertheless, the heel slides up easily without any need for shoehorns, and the makers not only permit lounging around with the shoes half on, they encourage it.

▼ Comfortable shoes and the eyesight of a bald eagle, he’s living the dream

They’re also made with all the other trappings of high quality shoes such as soles embedded with deodorizing and antibacterial fibers and a lightweight design for easy walking. Borderless Genuine Leather Shoes actually use elastic side gores just like loafers do, but with these they’re much more discreet, so no one’s the wiser unless they see you do this:

And even with all this, they’re reasonably priced at just 14,080 yen (US$105) a pair where they’re currently being sold on the Japanese crowdfunding site Makuake. Naturally, Japan’s widespread shoe-removal customs have made this a hot ticket item and they obliterated their target amount by over 1,500 percent, to the tune of just under eight million yen ($60,000), in just one week.

That figure is expected to rise even more as the crowdfunding continues until 7 October. Those who pledged during this time should expect their stealth loafers in the mail between November of this year and February of next.

For those that simply can’t wait until then to try some out, or are still skeptical about how well they work, WWS will have a special fitting section highlighting Borderless Genuine Shoes until 7 October at their flagship store in Shinjuku, Tokyo.

I have a feeling these kinds of shoes are really going to catch on in Japan. I certainly would like a pair myself, not so much for work – since I just sit at a computer and go to the occasional wacky fun slide – but for when I take the trash out to the curb and all my neighbors can see that I’m a man of wealth and taste.

Source: Makuake, PR Times
Images: PR Times
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