Source: CASBIA
I’ve admired CASBIA from across the waters for a while now. I haven’t pulled the trigger, but I’m awfully close. As a matter of fact, CLAE, CASBIA, Clearweather, COMUNITYmade and Brandblack are pushing me to reconsider my concept of sneaker retail and whether a shop can survive without Nike. These smaller brands utilize true luxury materials and craftsmanship in the construction of their shoes. In my mind, I see a retail store layout that evokes the feeling of a speakeasy and cigar bar. Wood floors, ceramic tile, leather seats and digital displays conveying the message of each brand.
The Fenomeno XXX2 is only one of the models that has forced me to consider opening a shop. The shoe is described as:
A thoroughly outrageous sneaker unlike any Casbia shoe before it. Named after the Italian word meaning “a phenomenal person,” FENOMENO forgoes minimalism for the ultimate in architectural bravata. 3M reflective sole merges with sleek, runner-inspired upper to create a sneaker as mid-century as it is modern
Material
Calf leather + reflective pufferKey Features
Calf Leather + 3M reflective nylon puffer
3M reflective outsole
CASBIA hot sealed logo on heel loop
At a time when footwear in the sneaker community consists of one drop after another of a shoe that everyone is wearing, there is an absence in the marketplace of store concepts catering to an elevated idea of what sneaker style can be. CASBIA, you have my attention and the wheels are turning.