Rombaut and Melissa‘s collaborative footwear came from a shared vision of eco-conscious craft. The resulting products utilize materials that are easy on the Earth without sacrificing each brands’ retro-cool aesthetics.
On hand for this seasonal joint effort are two genderless footwear styles: Melissa’s jelly-style Possession sandal and a new “melting” iteration of Rombaut’s celebrity-approved Boccaccio sneaker. Realized in monochrome shades alongside transparent brown, green and even purple editions, the shoes are almost entirely comprised of upcycled components like PVC recycled from factory waste and bio-based renewable carbon content.
Both Melissa and Rombaut have dipped into collaborative experiments before — the former linked with COMME des GARÇONS HOMME Plus and the latter with IDEA — but this joint effort is the duo’s most production-conscious to date.
“I wanted to bring attention to [temperatures rising around the globe] by having our signature sneaker style — the Boccaccio — literally melting,” explained Rombaut founder Mats Rombaut in a statement.
“Our brand is vegan and takes sustainability seriously, our collaborations need to have meaning and set a good example on how to make things better,” continued Rombaut. “It took a long time for me to do a collaboration with Rombaut because it’s hard to find big brands that have similar values. My favorite thing about Melissa is that you can return old/worn out shoes to their stores and they can recycle them into new shoes!”
“Rombaut is one of the most exciting brands in fashion right now and has a young, socially engaged community that embodies the freshness and creativity that Melissa stands for,” Raquel Scherer, Melissa’s global brand manager, enthused.
Shop the collaborative footwear for $98 USD (sandal) and $169 USD (sneakers) on Rombaut’s website, Melissa’s site, stores and select stockists like LN-CC. 100 limited edition pairs are only available on Rombaut’s website and Paris flagship.
For more remixed summer styles, peruse Toogood’s transformed collaborative Birkenstocks.