Haute & Freddy have turned their longstanding admiration for the designs of John Fluevog into a custom collaboration with the Vancouver shoemaker, creating two tartan-inspired styles named “Haute” and “Freddy.” Designed for the stage, the shoes reflect the duo’s extravagant aesthetic and Fluevog’s unconventional approach to footwear.

Before designing together, Haute & Freddy had already made John Fluevog part of their performance wardrobe, wearing his shoes at festivals and featuring them in the recent music video for “Touch Touch.” The collaboration develops that relationship through pieces created specifically for vocalist Michelle Buzz and percussionist Lance Shipp, the Los Angeles-based songwriters and performers behind the duo.

Courtesy of High Rise PR

Buzz and Shipp have built Haute & Freddy around an elaborate traveling-circus mythology that extends from their music and costuming to the audiences at their shows, where fans often arrive in handmade jester hats and crowns. The custom shoes made their first appearance during the duo’s September 9 performance at Vancouver’s Hollywood Theatre, where a tartan-themed evening offered a fitting setting for their debut. The collaboration was formally announced the following day.

Vancouver also brings the project back to the city where Fluevog began his career. After working at a local shoe store in the 1960s, he opened Fox and Fluevog with Peter Fox in Gastown in 1970 before eventually continuing under his name. Over the decades, he has developed a devoted following through sculptural silhouettes, unexpected proportions, and a willingness to treat footwear as a form of personal expression.

Music has remained closely connected to that history, from the Angels’ boots associated with the grunge era to collaborations with the family of Jimi Hendrix and the Dandy Warhols’ Courtney Taylor-Taylor. Haute & Freddy now join that lineage during a time of growing momentum for the duo, whose Atlantic Records debut album, Big Disgrace, includes “Shy Girl” and “Dance the Pain Away.”

The “Haute” and “Freddy” collection will be available this October!

Courtesy of High Rise PR