Wildling Shoes - Sustainable Barefoot Shoes

WILDLING
*Ten Years Barefoot in Motion

written SARAH ARENDTS

It all began with a step. Ten years of Wildling. Ten years barefoot, from the very start. Anna and Ran Yona founded the label in Engelskirchen in 2015, reimagining what shoes could be. Shoes that feel like no shoes at all. Unrestricted, agile, radically minimal.

The idea did not emerge from a business plan, it emerged from children running barefoot across tiles, meadows, sand. When the German climate demanded sturdier shoes, there were no models that gave the same freedom. So Anna and Ran built them. A wooden last shaped from their daughter’s foot, a designer sketching from afar, a small factory in Portugal producing the first prototype. A crowdfunding campaign brought the first pairs to life. And quickly the question arose: could this be done for adults too?

Anna and Ran
photo by Dirk Bruniecki

Today, people across the world wear Wildlings. The bestseller Tanuki alone has been sold over half a million times. Yet Wildling has never measured success in numbers. Success here means circularity, regionality, radical transparency. It means partners who want to reshape the textile world from its very roots. Three partnerships embody this vision: Nordwolle, Virgo Coop, and Itoitex. Each one tells of a future built from old knowledge, reimagined. Nordwolle begins in the pastures of northern Germany. Hardy breeds like the Pomeranian Landsheep graze the fields, preserving biodiversity. Their wool was once dismissed as too coarse, too rough. Now it is washed, combed, spun. No dyeing, no bleaching. A material that warms, breathes, and speaks against synthetic fibers, against microplastics, against faceless supply chains. Since 2015 Wildling has used Nordwolle, crafting models like Nordwolf entirely from it. When shoes are returned, the wool is recycled — a closed loop, rare in footwear.

Virgo Coop works in southern France. Three founders, an old weaving mill, a young team. Reviving the craft of European hemp and linen processing, long abandoned. Machines designed anew prepare the fibers into fine yarns. Hemp grows with little water, no pesticides, enriching the soil as it matures. Wildling invested in Virgo’s machines, helping save the weaving mill. Today, Nordwolle sends fibers to Virgo, and Virgo weaves fabrics in return. A regional cycle, sustaining knowledge once thought lost.

And then Itoitex. Two emails crossing paths — one from Germany, one from Japan. Anna Yona and Mr. Itoi recognized a shared possibility in Washi paper. Traditional Japanese paper, refined into yarn. Wrapped around a polyester core, woven into fabric. Lightweight, breathable, antibacterial, and biodegradable. Buried in the ground, it leaves no trace. From it came the Tanuki. A shoe with a thin, flexible sole, inspired by Japanese Tabi footwear. A design that connects the body to the ground, it´s a symbol of cultural exchange and the courage of improbable ideas.

Anna and Ran
photo by Sarah Pabst

photo by Lisa Pitz

Ten years of Wildling means ten years of radical textile research. Wool from Rügen, hemp from southern France, paper yarn from Japan. Each material is part of a larger story. A story about circular economies, collective innovation, and textile self-determination in Europe and beyond. A story about footwear as a vessel of vision, carrying ideas of how to live with the earth.

Wildling remains barefoot. From the beginning. And for the future.

discover more www.wildling.shoes

RESLIDES - Modular Slides

RESLIDES
*Modular Slides for a World in Flux

written AMANDA MORTENSON

RESLIDES arrives from Zurich with clear intent, a lucid system for feet and pace, authored by designer Benno Reichard and released to the public in Spring 2025. The project speaks in clean lines and steady rhythm, offering footwear as an editable experience and style as a living practice.

The brand presents a commons of fashion-conscious people who move through daily life with self-determination, who treat the planet with care and curiosity, and who welcome new ideas for living and consuming in a constant state of flux.

The message lands with clarity; DIVERSE – ADAPTABLE – SELF-DETERMINED. A pair of RESLIDES enters the wardrobe either pre-assembled and ready to walk or delivered as a kit for hands that enjoy process, order, and the small ceremony of building. Each element carries longevity in its brief. Components fit, refit, and return to service with ease, and the design welcomes repeated touch. Uppers and straps drop in regular waves through collaborations with artists, designers, and like-minded brands, turning the slide into a platform for edits, experiments, and mood shifts that follow the body through a day, a week, a season.

(c) pictures by Johanna Saxen

RESLIDES modular slides

The formal language orients on Dieter Rams principles and holds a timeless posture. Edges read calm, proportions feel balanced, and the silhouette glides through studio floors, café tiles, summer concrete, quiet corridors, garden paths. The wearer becomes an editor of detail: a textured upper for evening air, a monochrome strap for a stripped-back moment, a pattern that hums through errands and conversation. The system encourages change through choice, and choice arrives through parts that click into place with reassuring precision.

MODULAR – DURABLE – CIRCULAR. RESLIDES runs on update culture. Straps and uppers rotate, repair unfolds with purpose, and retired components loop back to the brand with rewards that close the circle. The promise is simple: material stays in play, style continues, waste loses its spotlight. A slide becomes a toolkit for personal evolution, and every selection writes another line in a growing archive. The act of exchange—one strap for another, one upper for a new texture—feels immediate and grounded, a small action with a steady consequence.

The community sits at the center. RESLIDES gathers people who claim their taste with confidence and craft, who enjoy a design that listens and responds. The brand talks in the first person plural for a reason; the project lives through shared choices, through images and gestures that pass from one pair of hands to another. The visual world surrounding the footwear stays close to real rooms and lived moments. The rhythm continues on Instagram at @reslides.official where fragments and process offer a window into the practice.

For those seeking a clear entrance, explore modular slides at RESLIDES. The site opens the system, the kit, the ready-to-wear path, the collaborations, and the return cycle that keeps materials moving through many lives. A wardrobe gains a living instrument: build, adjust, repeat, document, evolve. Each pair becomes a working notebook, each strap a fresh line, each return a quiet affirmation of care.

(c) pictures by Johanna Saxen

(c) pictures by Johanna Saxen

(c) pictures by Johanna Saxen

Zurich gave the project its first pulse and Spring 2025 the first release, yet the rhythm already escapes time and place, carried forward through the people who wear and rewear, who assemble and disassemble, who send parts back and wait for the next drop, who treat the slide as an ongoing conversation between body and object, surface and ground, past step and next step. RESLIDES is less an item to be owned than a process to be lived, a modular cadence where every exchange of straps and uppers becomes a gesture of care, every return a small ritual in circular design, and every walk a reminder that fashion can remain open, responsive, generous. Update over waste, and movement writes the rest. Enjoy yourself!

discover more www.reslides.ch

pos.sei.mo - Sustainable Luxury Knitwear

pos.sei.mo
*Crafting Timeless Knitwear

written SARAH ARENDTS

The German knitwear brand pos.sei.mo builds its identity on rare natural fibers, refined craftsmanship, and a clear commitment to sustainability. Every collection is shaped by the idea that luxury can coexist with responsibility, creating garments that are precious and enduring.

The name pos.sei.mo brings together three materials that define the brand’s essence: possum, silk, merino. These fibers, often blended with cashmere, set the tone for the distinctive softness and resilience of the collections. The story began with a dedication to natural yarns and the decision to work with partners who share the same values. Early collaborations with Woolyarns in New Zealand established a foundation of trust and access to high-quality, ethically sourced fibers.

Production is anchored in Germany and the EU, where skilled workshops apply traditional and advanced knitting methods. Techniques such as Seamless Knitting and Fully Fashioned enable precise shaping, minimal waste, and garments that carry the signature of careful craftsmanship.

pos.sei.mo presents knitwear as a long-term companion. The brand pursues an approach that emphasizes continuity, thoughtful design, and accountability across every step of creation. A garment is envisioned for its moment of purchase and for years of use, with a focus on maintaining beauty and function over time.

This philosophy is extended through the Cashmere Spa, an in-house service for garment care and repair. By offering professional maintenance, the brand ensures that treasured pieces remain part of daily life for as long as possible. This service reflects a holistic vision: production and aftercare are inseparable elements of sustainable fashion.

Each collection reflects a dedication to elegance and refinement through knitwear. Fibers such as possum, silk, merino, and cashmere are chosen for their natural qualities and combined in innovative blends. Seamless construction techniques result in garments that feel fluid on the body, while Fully Fashioned knitting shapes each piece with precision.

Design language is rooted in clarity and timelessness. Natural and earthy tones dominate the palette, often complemented by muted neutrals that highlight the quality of the fiber itself. Silhouettes range from classic turtlenecks to draped cardigans, ponchos, and finely crafted scarves, all conceived to integrate effortlessly into a wardrobe.

Every stage of the pos.sei.mo process follows a consistent principle of responsibility. Fibers are sourced under strict environmental and animal welfare standards in New Zealand. Production takes place within Europe, allowing close oversight and fair working conditions. Knitting technologies reduce excess material, aligning efficiency with quality. By encouraging customers to renew and care for garments through the Cashmere Spa, pos.sei.mo adds another layer of responsibility to its practice.

pos.sei.mo represents an understanding of fashion as cultural craftsmanship. Each piece is both a product and a statement of values, shaped by a respect for natural resources, for skilled artisans, and for the wearer. The brand continues to expand its presence while staying true to its roots: fibers from New Zealand, European design aesthetics, and a dedication to sustainable luxury. Through its collections, pos.sei.mo demonstrates that knitwear can embody refinement, durability, and care. The vision is clear—garments created with integrity, carried forward with responsibility, and treasured across generations.

all images (c) pos.sei.mo
discover more www.posseimo.de