My Name is Caiza
and I Wear Mephisto

Text: Caiza Andresen

I’m lucky enough to wear sweatpants to work and whenever I go to my favourite restaurant, the Grill Royal, I also put on my joggers. That’s just how I feel most comfortable. Comfort is everything. I don’t care what people think, as long as I like it.

But what I’ve been getting the same ratio of props and ridicule about in recent years is Mephisto shoes.

I’m part of the sneaker scene; the Nike Air 180 is the crown of creation for me. Now place that next to a Mephisto. Ok, what do you notice? They don’t seem to go together. So why do I wear them?

There were two separate occasions that brought me to the brand. Or rather three. Well, more like two and a half.

Numero Uno:
In 2017, it was finally that time when I felt grown-up enough to buy my first pair of Common Projects. They are astronomically expensive. And they have a very, very strange fit. Anyway, I didn’t fit in the shoes I scored in the sale. But I wanted something white made out of good leather.

I went out with a really cool girl for a while (that is really true). And we went to flea markets regularly. It was Saturday again, and we made our way to the Dortmund flea market where I saw a pair of white sneakers. They had the best leather and the perfect form. The shoes were Mephistos. I didn’t know the model of the shoes, but I wore them as often as I could from then on.

Reason 2:
In 2017, the Patta people decided instead of doing a collaboration with sneaker brand XY they would do something completely off the charts and work with Mephisto.

I saw the shoe in an Instagram story of an old classmate who works in the fashion business. It was so anti-everything that it made me really want it. It was the complete opposite of the colourful run-of-the-mill sneakers that you can get on every corner and see on every foot.

Now to reason 2.5:
The Patta lads drove to the Mephisto headquarters in Sarrebourg accompanied by Gary Warnett. Anyone who has ever read his blog GWARIZM knows that this guy had an incredible love for what is called streetwear / culture / whatever. The article triggered an enormous desire in me to engage more with the brand.

Through a sneaker event that I do, I was able to get in touch with the Mephisto people and have been to the headquarters many times. There I saw how each step was carried out by a different shoemaker. I was in the leather warehouse where hundreds of different rolls of leather stood before of me – an incredible number of colours, suede, smooth leather, Nubuk…

What surprised me was there was no »assembly-line piecework« that you might know of from secretly filmed footage of the average sneaker brand factory.

The history of Mephisto is very straightforward. It is an exemplary company that has turned shoes of the very best quality into a worldwide business. Its shoes are worn by Janet Jackson, Steven Spielberg und Arnold Schwarzenegger. I heard that Arnold always personally places his order by telephone. Pavarotti has worn the model Match.

The exact same model that Ronnie Fieg now wears.

I found out later that the shoe I picked up at the flea market, back then, is also a Match. And I wear them all the time and they amaze me time and again. I’m not doing any name dropping here, but I assure you that every second sneaker brand in Germany, has someone who works in a higher position wearing Mephisto in their free time. #sneakerleaks

I fell in love with the brand. I celebrate every old advert that I can get my fingers on and every old model that I see at the flea market. Recently, an elderly gentleman in an ill-fitting jacket walked through the city in front of me wearing a pair of Mephisto Match with blue lettering instead of green. I was about to offer him a chunk of bank notes, but somehow, they were too worn out.

Every few months I meet with the Mephisto people and talk with them about new models, CWs, etc. And I am very pleased that finally after a long time they are rereleasing the Mephisto Match. To be honest: I talked these people into it. And for this reason, I got on their nerves. And now I have what I wanted.

And it all started with a trip to the flea market and the fact that Common Projects have a very strange fit. Mephisto is an exotic for us sneaker dudes. It is a German company that produces in France to the highest level with a plan and love. And the shoes are just so damn comfortable. Trust me.

Afterword:
Don’t mess with the best. That is why, I have only expressed my own personal impressions.

If you want to delve into the brand history in more detail, please use the Wayback machine and read gwarizm.com’s old Mephisto posts.

Rest in Power, Gary!

Discover the Mephisto range at HHV: www.hhv.de/shop/en/mephisto-casuals

Visual Content: Mephisto