Below is the lookbook video for conceptual brand LOCUS/SOLUS, who challenged themselves to launch and operate parallel to their product - minimally. With a team of two, LOCUS/SOLUS designed, developed, and produced leather garments utilizing unique hand waxed finishes applied on vegetable tanned leathers. Although knowing it to be a double edged sword, the brand made all effort to transcend all mainstream media and distribution outlets to ultimately present themselves as a “IDGAF” attitude. With a mysterious and untraceable presence, LOCUS/SOLUS’s existence remains a mystery.

Over the years I've been lucky enough to handle all types of leathers. From bison, horse, kangaroo, to culatta, it's been fascinating handling top tier leather qualities from the best tanneries around the world.

I must admit my current favorite leather is culatta. For those of you who aren't familiar with this type of leather - it's simply a special "cut" of the hide, comprised of the rear (butt), the belly middles and the hind shanks. By cutting the butt and the belly together, two very different types of leathers are fused into one interesting "cut" when applied to footwear. To the average "joe" or person who only desires/likes shiny and new (think girl who only wears Coach, Louis Vuitton, blah blah) culatta is definitely not for them.

In my opinion, the appeal to this leather is the stunning texture, moving from unique grains to natural scarring to smooth suedes. Let's take a look at the below shoe from Carol Christian Poell. Notice the vamp area around the toe box and the wonderful texture achieved from the utilization of the culatta. As you move to the left of the vamp towards the medial section, one will notice that the texture of the leather transitions into a smooth oiled thick suppler leather on the same piece of leather. 

Below is another example of culatta at its best - a pair of boots from Augusta (A1923). Notice the transition of texture on the rear shafts of the boots. The natural scarring and textures are driven by the lifestyle & story of the animal. While many might see this pair and think it is dirty and cheap looking, real footwear connoisseurs only feel their hearts beating faster. 

 Unfortunately (and fortunately) most brands that utilize this type of leather are "artisanal" and thus quite expensive with limited production and distribution. I say fortunately because these types of shoes are not going to be found everywhere and thus make them unique and rare.

In my opinion simply one of the finest footwear brands available on the market, Guidi is an Italian entity which started as a leather tannery "Conceria Guidi e Rosellini" back in 1896. Today, they are a footwear and handbag brand consisting of highly skilled craftsmen who utilize traditional artisanal techniques and methods beyond what the modern average “connoisseur” of footwear may be familiar with or even appreciate. Utilizing Goodyear and Norwegian welts throughout their line of shoes, Guidi not only provides an impeccable foundation of footwear construction but also delivers top tier quality leather that is offered in today's footwear market. The aesthetic is raw and "untouched", so the outsoles are not buffed and the uppers often unpolished. Thus, I have heard horror stories of people who have taken their Guidis to cobblers, only to find their shoes polished and buffed when picked up.

I had the fine opportunity to compare two versions of what people refer to as the "Guidi Backzip". This boot features a slanted shaft which ultimately creates the beautiful stacking of leather when worn as shown in the second photo below. This stacking is a major reason for why one would desire this backzip boot. I was able to compare the 988s horse version (“s” means slim shaft) vs. the 988 soft horse version and surprisingly they were actually quite different. The slimmer shaft versions are known to have a 2 cm decrease in circumference in the shaft and while that may sound very minuscule, the difference is drastic in terms of fit and look. At the end of the day the 988s is a better fit if you have slimmer ankles and like to wear slimmer pants.

988 soft horse

In the below photo, the boot on the left = 988s horse while boot on the right = 988 soft horse. Notice the difference in stacking style. Aside from the obvious difference in the smell of the horse vs. soft horse, the soft horse was literally "softer" and more "refined" than the horse (for better or worse..personally I like the horse more as it felt more rugged)

100% Hand crafted lambskin pouches and folios by STZMCHN. Swiss sourced RiRi zippers, Italian bubble lambskin, and dedicated passion ultimately produce this luxurious accessory. 

The leather is so thick we utilize pliers to pull the needle through. 

Two way zipper with a beautiful textured Italian lambskin. 5'' x 5.5''

Italian bubble lambskin featuring what most consider the smoothest zipper in the world: RiRi. Is it worth having a trim equal to 30% of the entire cost of a product? If you ask us, then the answer is: absolutely, yes! The smoothness of the glide, quality of the pull, teeth, and grosgrain zipper tape is unmatched.

we find keeping the atelier table clean to be crucial in creating an immaculate hand-made item. 

                                              Fits a 15'' Macbook pro. 

                                       This is the new steezemachine.