Grenson Shoes was one of those brands born from absolute necessity. Literally home grown (when William Green’s father passed on and he had to help his mother produce mens’ boots at home), this English heritage brand continued as a cottage industry until Green established his own craft in 1866 as William Green & Son. Not before too long, his was name synonymous with quality, artisanship and durability.

By the time Green & Son became an eponymous shoe workshop, they had attracted some of the finest artisans in the world and the burgeoning practice needed a new home, finding its place in menswear history when they opened the “Greens Yard” factory in 1874. The first to use the Goodyear welt construction method so analogous with quality shoe crafts today, Green & Son soon shortened into Grenson.

Mr. Porter: A Grenson and Foot the Coacher collaboration

It beggars belief that it has taken this long for a Grenson and Foot the Coacher collaboration. After all, William Green found his start in Northampton under an apprenticeship with his mother, while Mr Toshinosuke Takegahara of Foot the Coacher also trained in the area before returning to Japan to design British-inspired shoes.

This unique collaboration, bringing together two names from the ends of the Earth, linked by the common ancestry of the birthplace of English shoemaking fuses together two distinct yet similar styles. The quality of the shoes produced by this partnership is astounding, the goodyear welt method of construction produces wear resistant togs and with Foot the Coacher lending its Victorian footwear aesthetic, the classic English shoe receives a contemporary update. The result is lots of tiny detailing from the glorious days of heritage English shoemaking-  a collection of five boots in two styles now available at Mr. Porter.