Vein is participating the Hope For Haiti event at Cloudland on July 12th. Get on to http://www.hopeforhaitievent.com/ and get a ticket. It's an easy way to save the world.
Hope For Haiti Event - July 12th
Vein is participating the Hope For Haiti event at Cloudland on July 12th. Get on to http://www.hopeforhaitievent.com/ and get a ticket. It's an easy way to save the world.
FourThousand: Vein Shoe Store Review
"In 2002 I purchased my first pair of Dunlop Volleys. Wanting to stand out from the crowd, I took them home, lay them on some newspaper and destroyed them with a permanent pen and pink paint. Once I realised that nothing could disguise the origin of the shoes and that I was rocking the same look as about 20 million other people, I worked out why it's so hard to put the words ‘original' and ‘footwear' together.
If you already knew that shoe design is not protected under copyright or IP laws, you'll agree that the philosophy behind Vein Store is refreshing. Each Vein shoe is hand-sketched by Brisbane designer Christopher McCallum and hand-made from nice smelling leather by master craftspeople. Only 100 pairs of each style are ever created, which means no conveyor belts, no worker exploitation and no need to DIY."
By Emily Lush
Check out: FourThousand.com.au
Head Over Heels - Brisbane News
Rain In Vein - The Sunday Mail
"Shoe lovers of Brisbane united to welcome Chris McCallum, the man behind Vein Wear shoes, to his new city location in the Brisbane Arcade. The wet weather didn't dampen fashion spirits, with people slipping into their best shoes for the night. The winner of the inaugural Vein Wear Men's Footwear Design Competition, Taiwan's Jack Yu, was announced." Fashion Editor Kellie Alderman.
Pictures: Drew Fitzgibbon
The Cult - City News
"FAST becoming a cult brand for men's style, Vein Wear has expanded from Fortitude Valley to open its second men's shoe boutique in the heritage-listed Brisbane Arcade. Vein's talented founder and head designer Christopher McCallum has created a range of hand-made shoes which boast both quality craftsmanship and an urban design edge. It's original Australian-designer footwear at its best. Run, don't walk..." Style Editor, Nicole Carrington.
Losing my virginity - compliments of Vein Wear (Fashion Weekly's Vein Party Review)
"I lost my fashion events virginity to the Vein Shoe Store Opening on Wednesday night - and what an honour it was. Truly. I’ve never seen a shoe so beautiful. I’ve never seen so many shoes so beautiful!
If a man were to present himself to me wearing nothing but a pair of Vein Loafers, I would walk him right to the altar. It left a prodigious first impression on me. A greeting at the door, a plethora of canapés and various beverages and a welcome speech promised that the night would be commendable.
I do believe that congratulations are in order, to Jack (Chih-Chieh) Yu - the winner of the Vein Wear Men's Shoe Design Competition. Jack is responsible for designing the Vagrant Shoe, which was deemed to be the most popular design with both the judges and the public.
Launching in 2003, Vein Wear have filled a void in the Australian men's shoe market. Offering individuality, quality, style and comfort, they really give you no other option than to purchase the goods. There is nothing worse than going to work or out to dinner and seeing your shoe's on 10 different people. For those who value originality, you'll be pleased to know that the most Vein will make of one particular design, is 100.
The Store Opening was a huge success! I could barely move around, there were so many people there. I trust that everyone enjoyed themselves just as much as I did, because it truly was an auspicious occassion.
Auspicious as it was, after being around and in a pair of shoe's all night, the only thing I could think of was trading my high heels in for a pair of Havaianas - and I wouldn't leave home without them."
[http://zh-hk.facebook.com/notes/fashion-weekly/losing-my-virginity-compliments-of-vein-wear/345695448186]
What is a Plimsoll Shoe?
A plimsoll shoe or simply plimsoll is a type of athletic shoe with a canvas upper and rubbersole, developed as beachwear in the 1830s by the Liverpool Rubber Company (later to become Dunlop). The shoe was originally, and often still is in parts of the UK, called a 'sand shoe' and acquired the nickname 'plimsoll' in the 1870s. This name derived, according to Nicholette Jones' book "The Plimsoll Sensation", because the colored horizontal band joining the upper to the sole resembled the Plimsoll line on a ship's hull, or because, just like the Plimsoll line on a ship, if water got above the line of the rubber sole, the wearer would get wet.
As it was commonly used for corporal punishment in the British Commonwealth, where it was the typical gym shoe (part of the school uniform), plimsolling is also a synonym for a slippering. They were generally black or white with a few in brown.
- In most of English-speaking North America, they are known as sneakers or tennis shoes, depending on the regional dialect.
- In Australia and other places such footwear is still referred to as a sandshoe, and include the similar shoe, the Dunlop Volley. [1]
- In the UK these shoes were compulsory in schools' physical education lessons and today are still generally known as Plimsolls or pumps. Regional terms are common for these. In Northern Ireland and central Scotland they are usually known as gutties; "sannies" (from 'sand shoe') is also used in Scotland[2]. In parts of Southern England and Wales they are known as "daps" or "dappers". There is a widespread belief that "daps" is taken from a factory sign - "Dunlop Athletic Plimsoles" which was called "the DAP factory". However, this seems unlikely as the first citation in the Oxford English Dictionary of "dap" for a rubber soled shoe is a March 1924 use in the Western Daily Press newspaper; Dunlop did not acquire the Liverpool Rubber Company (as part of the merger with the Macintosh group of companies) until 1925.
- In South Africa they are called tekkies and in East Africa Tackies allegedly because that is how the rubber went in the sun.
- In India, white plimsolls are often worn by school children and are known as Keds. The brown version is used by most police and military units as a gym training shoe; they are also part of the uniform of a batman (military).
Their use, however, is decreasing, with trainers being used more often. The shoe has become an icon of many generations—and music genres, including Grunge, hip-hop, emo and gangsta rap. In the early months of 2008, the Plimsoll shoe within the UK became a major fashion statement, with many celebrities such as Pete Doherty and other Indie/Emo related stars influencing their come back. They are generally worn with tight fitting jeans (also known as Drainpipe jeans) or jeans with turned up bottoms.
[Text from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plimsoll_shoe]
[Text from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plimsoll_shoe]
Vein Party Review: Brisbane Creative Industries
Event Review by Foluke Abigail Zrobok for Brisbane Creative Industries:
Photography credit: Red Eclipse Photography
Oh you're so Vein!
"You could be forgiven for thinking you’d walked on to the set of a 1920s art-deco inspired movie. The air was fraught with anticipation; the standing lights on each side of the hallway cast a warm golden glow over the rich interior of the heritage-listed Brisbane Arcade….
Flanked on one end by a ceiling-high banner and on the other end by a centre-piece reminiscent of a bridal table opulently adorned with an array of white flowers, green foliage, and an assortment of mouth-watering lollies in quaint little lolly jars – the already lavish arcade was, last night, transformed into a set designer’s wet dream.
I was still picking my jaw off the floor when three waiters came out with the final showpiece and laid it on the table for all to admire. Imagine a three foot tall ice sculpture, with a pair of men's shoes also made of ice perched on top of the sculpture and the word Vein engraved into the translucent and gracefully thawing ice….
Welcome to the Vein Wear Cocktail Party. Also known as the launch of the second Vein Wear shoes store in Brisbane.
Marvin Gaye and other crooners set the mood as champagne began to flow and gourmet canapés made the rounds. Skilfully illustrated A4 page flyers providing a brief overview of various Vein Wear design hopefuls and their respective design entries hung neatly on the glass windows...just in case we didn't know what the Vein Wear shoe design competition was all about. I, for one didn’t, so I was very thankful for the flyers.
Photographers clamoured for the best shots, many a curious passer-by stopped to gape in wonderment, though attempts to gatecrash the red-carpet affair were promptly thwarted by elegantly clad hostesses manning the entrance – this was an exclusive event by invitation only. I suddenly felt very important.
That feeling of course, didn’t last long, as the who’s who of Brisbane Fashion industry began to make their entrances. It was almost like being at a fashion show in Paris, their styles were as bold as they were varied from street wear to avant-garde; I suddenly felt insignificant in my drab work getup. Note to self – must remember to wear my best cocktail dress at a fashion launch.
In the space of 10 minutes, the arcade had gone from practically empty save a couple of reporters and photographers to hardly any elbow room. The arcade was now alive and buzzing with excited chatter.
There were appearances by exceptionally tall, skinny, beautiful women whom I could only pray were models (the alternative was just too hard to contemplate for my fragile ego), and whom I’d never seen or heard of but seemed very much at home amidst the Fashion elites of Brisbane as they hugged and air-kissed their way around the arcade.
At 7pm, Vein Wear owner and designer Christopher McCallum took centre stage and the official part of the evening began. His speech was short and sweet and surprisingly, didn’t make my eyes glaze over.
Then there was the announcement of the winner of the Vein Wear design competition. Apparently, the competition was a big deal; they had entrants from around the world. Even as far as Turkey. The three finalists were chosen by public votes from Taiwan, Australia, and The States. The award went to Taiwan’s Yu Chih-Chieh who, sadly, couldn’t make the event but his winning design will be sold in the Vein Wear store.
The crowd cheered, signalling the end of the formalities. Then it was back to more cocktails, champagne, wine, and scrumptious canapés. Who knew there was such a thing as risotto balls?
The Vein guys sure know how to throw a party and generate buzz. It was enough to make me Google Vein Wear store as soon as I got home just to see what the fuss was all about.
I’d like to invite Vein Wear's PR agent (if he happens to read this) to dinner with little ol' me so I can pick his brains! Yes it was that good!
Easily the best two hours of my week."
And the winner is...Jack (Chih-Chieh) Yu
Congratulations Jack! The Vagrant Shoe was the most popular design with both the public and the judges.
This from Judge Gordon Kelly:
"All 3 shoes are very interesting and creative, my 1st choice would be the ‘Vagrant’ because I just like it. Especially the complex lacing and I think it would lend itself to the Vein line very well. As for comments I think the puckering on the upper around the metatarsal area could turn out to be difficult to replicate in a production environment. And I think the undercut heel could be detrimental to both stability and wear (dependant on the depth of undercut of course).
The ‘Zipped Oxford’ was very traditional shoe which always looks good; however the concept of the zip I thin need a little more thought there’s not much flexibility with an oxford even with laces and with the fitting being limited even further with a zip would prove very difficult to fit in a retail setting. If you visualize someone with a high or fallen arch testing the same shoe the fitting would be quite different. This could be allowed for with variable thickness innersole (though a bit tacky) or a custom made zip with an elastic tape or small gusset than that could spoil the oxford lines.
The ‘Westerly’ obviously a talented an thoughtful designer here beautiful color combination and use of materials and lovely elegant lines my only real prejudice against this design is the fact that the vamps would have to be crimped before lasting which could make factory production quite difficult especially given the combination of colors, but again a fantastic shoe but not my first choice."
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