New Brand: Stepney Workers Club

Words: Sebastian Nicu

Shoes do not always have to be modern. But that does not mean that they have to be handmade full-brogues, either. The latest addition to our footwear brand range is Stepney Workers Club (S.W.C.), coming straight out of London’s working-class district Hackney. Thus the visible inspiration from subcultures such as punk, skateboarding and many more is no accident.

Even though the members of these subcultures used to like to slap each other’s faces, they had
a common preference for classic sneakers with vulcanized soles. But the history of such sneakers can be spun much further, all the way back to the peace-loving Worker Sports Clubs of the twenties. Under the slogan »Freedom of Sports, Freedom of Thought«, S.W.C. rethinks classic silhouettes and combines high vulc soles with various high-quality upper materials. The handshake logo of the brand is in keeping with the anti-fascist idea of unity that sports clubs cultivated.

Ever since Roger Pereira and Simon See, who each worked for 12 years as designers for British
luxury shoe manufacturers, founded S.W.C. in 2018, a lot has changed. Their vision: to produce authentic vulc sneakers, using technologiques similar to those of the fifties and sixties with a personal touch. The result is sneakers that suit every lifestyle. Through appearances at the Paris Fashion Week and collaborations with Joy Division and Brain Dead, Stepney Workers Club has been able to accumulate a number of fans in the short history of the company.

And if you ask me, the future looks bright. Because simple vulc sneakers will stay forever, you just have to look around outside. With S.W.C. you can take a deep breath of the rough – but still romantic – air of the past’s working class heroes.

See our range of Stepney Workers Club footwear: Stepney Workers Club

Visual content – Photos: Maxmdy