VELDSKOEN, FOR EVERYONE

The history of Veldskoen shoes is as rich and diverse as the country they come from. There are various groups of people who believe the Veldskoen, or a version of it, started with them.

The word “Veldskoen”, was first documented by the Dutch settlers who arrived in southern Africa almost 400 years ago. It means “field shoes.” However, according to Khoisan tribal folk lore, there were leather shoes, cut from a single hide, being made and worn as far back as a 1000 years before that.

Because of the Dutch settlers, one of the official languages in South Africa is Afrikaans which is a dialect descended from Dutch and French. Locally in South Africa we have a term used for this style of shoe which in Afrikaans is ‘Kaktrappers’ or ‘shitsteppers’ – this is an exact translation of the Spanish shoes ‘Pisacaca’s’. The description in Afrikaans and in Spanish is coincidentally a description of exactly the same style of shoe that accurately describes the Pisacaca and the Kaktrapper.

The similarity in the origin of the shoe and the use it was traditionally used for where it was practical for farmers, hunters and outdoors people has created a shoe that has the same style in both countries. We reinvented the Veldskoen by adding the colourful soles and laces, and joined the dots between modern day Pisacacas and our durable, tough, all weather Veldskoen (pronounced Felt-skoon) shoes.

The motivation behind the shoes is to shine a positive light on South Africa, and by sheer chance we found a connection to the same type of shoe in Spain with the very same meaning! We wanted to create a piece of apparel that connects us as a nation and is a visual representation of all the incredible characteristics of our great country.

Our shoes are meant for everyone with dreams inside them, memories behind them, and journeys ahead of them. And because in this whole wide world there are no two people who walk, laugh, or think exactly the same way, our shoes are for all the individuals who are living their own beautiful, unique, stories, wherever they are in the world.

They’re for everyone, but they’re also for every one.

We’d love to see how you wear yours! #HowIwearMine