Story mfg and PF Flyers Rebuild the All-American High-Top Around Handwoven, Naturally Dyed Cloth
Two limited makeups pair PF Flyers’ 1937 canvas heritage with Story mfg’s small-batch, artisan-dyed approach.
Name: All-American Story Mfg High-Top, Signature Wobbly Waffle, All-American Story Mfg High-Top, Signature Indigo Handloom
Colorway: Indigo/Brown, Indigo/Ecru
SKU: A26SMFGW, A26SMFGI
MSRP: $130 USD
Release Date: August 10
Where to Buy: PF Flyers, Story mfg.
PF Flyers and Story mfg. have joined forces on a limited edition of the All-American High-Top, reworking the canvas silhouette around handwoven, naturally dyed fabric. The two makeups translate a shared, slow-made philosophy into footwear, releasing online August 10.
The pairing rests on common ground. PF Flyers has turned out honest, hard-wearing shoes since 1937 and has left its formula largely untouched across the decades. Story mfg., meanwhile, has spent thirteen years producing naturally dyed, hand-crafted clothing in small runs alongside artisan makers in India and Thailand. Two very different origins, the release argues, add up to the same underlying belief in building things that last.
That belief shows most clearly in the cloth. Both makeups are handwoven and naturally dyed by weavers in Thailand who work from their own homes. The Signature Wobbly Waffle version is woven by hand, and its brown is not a dye at all but homegrown cotton that grows that color in the field, then gets woven together with yarn dyed in real indigo. Because of that process, no two panels match, which is the entire point, and the shoe is built to wear in rather than out. The Signature Indigo Handloom follows the same thinking, using handwoven indigo cloth colored in fermented vats with locally grown plants, meant to soften and fade into the wearer over time.
Cloth like this rarely reaches a shoe, the brands note, because it is too slow, too irregular and too awkward for standard production. Getting there took a willing mill, a willing factory and two labels stubborn enough to push it through. “We are proud to partner with Story mfg. as we continue the nearly 90-year heritage of PF Flyers developing considered canvas shoes,” said PF Flyers CEO Kassia Davis in the release. “Story mfg. is a like-minded partner who isn’t chasing hype but is achieving thoughtful design with their hand-woven, naturally-dyed fabric”
The craft carries through to the unboxing. The limited edition ships in special packaging built around a custom Story mfg. brown box and tissue design, finished with a cream dust bag to keep the sneakers protected.
