Made in the ancient Spanish township of Almansa, Etymology is the latest brand (homegrown, no less) to embrace menswear’s “post-sneaker era”: the logical end-point to drop culture fatigue and our collective post-pandemic yearning for fashion that, as writer Rachael Syme put it, is “about the experience of moving through the world”.
The brand, co-founded by William Phung of The Hounds renown, has been in the making for a few years now; and has just debuted online with a grip of four loafer and oxford footwear styles – worn alongside quite a bit of sumptuous aspirational tailoring, supplied by Ralph Lauren and fellow Sydney label REMY.
Although the core techniques used to craft each pair of Etymology shoes are classical in nature (both the oxford and various loafer styles are Goodyear-welted and require over 125 steps of assembly) there has been a concerted effort to purge each model of anachronisms.
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Flick through any of the product copy – say, for the signature ‘Ito’ loafer in Italian calf – and you won’t find haughty diatribes about broguing, European aristocrats or the manufactured nostalgia of the ‘Good Ol’ Days’. Instead, the Ito’s details are as sleek as its architectural inspirations: simple, symmetrical and crafted to endure.
“We’re designing for Australian men who…honour the classics while embracing a modern ethos,” says Gabriel Abi-Saab, the brand’s Creative Director. “It’s about offering something considered, not just selling a product.”
To that end, with the rather obvious exception of the classic ‘Utzon’ oxford (inspired by photographs of Danish architect Jørn Oberg Utzon), you could almost certainly get away with wearing any of Abi-Saab’s designs in a way that speaks to the charming indolence of Aussie style.
In its brown suede variation, the ‘Ito’ makes for a subtle riff on Ivy style (shorn of that aesthetic’s unpleasant classist connotations) while the ‘Yasiin’ – Etymology’s mainstay penny loafer – is versatile enough to be worn with anything short of activewear.
Considering how sneakers that will barely be internet-cool for 15 minutes now routinely retail for north of $300, we dare say it might be time to make your next footwear splurge…a dressy one.
