I've been staring at these five pairs of trainers for the past hour, thinking about everything we've built wrong in fashion over the last decade.
Not the trainers themselves - they're solid. Classic navy canvas, organic materials, designed to last years not months. It's what they represent that's got me reflective. The foundation.
Why we photographed trainers on black mineral
That circular staging wasn't random. We shot these on a black mineral base because it's the most literal representation of our philosophy - you can't build anything lasting without a proper foundation.
I learned this the hard way three years ago. We rushed our first trainer launch, found a factory that could turn around samples quickly, launched in four months. They looked good in photos. Then the returns started coming in.
Soles separating after six weeks. Canvas wearing through at pressure points. Stitching failing around the toe box. We'd built upwards without sorting the foundation first, and it completely collapsed. Cost us £18,000 in refunds and damaged credibility with customers who'd trusted us.
Starting over from the ground up
So we started again. Spent eight months developing a classic canvas trainer. Eight months for something that's existed since the 1950s.
We tested twelve different organic canvas weights. The first three wore through too quickly. Four through seven caused blisters. Eight showed dirt too easily. We kept going until we found one that actually worked.
The sole took even longer. We worked with a Portuguese supplier who'd been making shoe soles since 1987, formulating a custom blend that hit our durability and environmental requirements.
Then we tested them properly. 100-wash cycles plus three-month wear tests with five different people - office worker, warehouse staff, someone who walks everywhere, a parent, and a gig-goer. Version two failed for the warehouse worker. Version three's laces frayed too quickly. We kept iterating.
The real cost of proper foundations
Building properly costs more and takes longer. These trainers are £65 versus £25 on the high street. That difference isn't profit - it's foundation.
Our £65 breaks down: £22 for organic materials, £14 for ethical production, £7 for quality testing, £9 for logistics, £6 for operating costs, £7 reinvested into improvements.
The £25 trainer? Poverty wages, cheapest materials, zero testing, airfreighted. That's not a foundation - that's a house of cards.
Why classic design isn't boring
People ask why we went with such a classic silhouette. Because trends aren't foundations. This navy canvas design has worked since before streetwear was a marketing term. It works in 2025 and it'll work in 2030.
We didn't need to reinvent the wheel. We just needed to make it properly.
The five-pair philosophy
That circular arrangement represents our ideal wardrobe approach. You don't need fifty pairs of trainers. You need five really good pairs that last years.
Five pairs lasting three years each is fifteen years of footwear. Versus buying cheap trainers every six months - thirty pairs in the same timespan. The environmental difference is massive.
We've got customers still wearing trainers from three years ago. Festivals, European trips, British winters. Still going strong. That's what proper foundations enable.
What we're still fixing
We're not perfect. The navy dye fades slightly with sun exposure. Cotton laces wear faster than synthetic. Sizing runs narrow for wider feet. Version four will address these issues.
But we're not hiding these imperfections. We acknowledge them and continuously improve. That's what building on proper foundations looks like.
The uncomfortable truth
Building proper foundations means being slower than your competition. While we spent eight months developing, three other brands launched footwear first. Better marketing, bigger launches.
Slow isn't sexy. Slow doesn't go viral. But slow and solid outlasts fast and fragile every time.
What starting from the ground up looks like
Research before action. We spent three months researching before contacting factories. Testing before launching - those 100-wash cycles added months but saved us from disaster. Systems before scale. Values before marketing. Relationships before transactions.
The foundation matters
Those five pairs on black minerals represent choosing substance over hype, longevity over trends, honest work over quick wins.
The foundation matters. In what you build, in how you build it, in why you build it at all.
We spent three years sorting ours. These trainers are just the visible result of invisible foundation work. And they'll still be wearable in another three years because we started from the ground up.
If you're building anything; start there. With the foundation. Everything else is just details.
Shop The Foundation Collection: Navy Canvas Trainers - £65
Built Different F/W. Available now.
