OSWEN Footwear · Cologne, Germany
The king in the name
Oswen makes boots and shoes by hand in Portugal, from just three materials. Paul Tudor founded the label in Cologne after more than twenty years in footwear at PUMA, adidas Originals and Birkenstock.
The brand is named after a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon king who ruled in the north of England. The name, Paul Tudor says, stands for how an Englishman found his home in Germany. He decided on the label in January 2021 and launched it that September.
The workshop in Portugal
Every pair is put together by hand in one workshop in Portugal. Its owner holds an equity stake in Oswen.
Leather, cork and crepe
The leather is rated gold by the Leather Working Group and carries Germany's Blue Angel mark. The cork is harvested in Portugal, and the crepe soles are natural rubber. On the City models the outsole is Vibram.
The Ewaldi and its seam
If one shoe holds the idea, it is the Ewaldi, a suede boot stitched down onto a chunky crepe sole and marked by its butt seam. The brand's own copy calls it the heart of Oswen. Built to be worn for years.
The packaging they arrive in has no plastic in it.
