Swear
The footwear brand Swear, created in London by entrepreneur Jose Neves, was formed behind the idea of a crossover shoe for a crossover generation. Jose and brand manager Jorge Sampaio had the idea in 2000 after growing tired of seeing the youth of the time out and about, at gigs etc wearing a mix of converse and vintage boots paired with skinny jeans. Their idea was to create a shoe synergy that would work well with a minimalist look representative of the early 00's.
Since its birth, Swear Footwear has attracted the eye of a music and fashion forward crowd including indie artists and musicians such as Kings of Leon, Muse, Radiohead and Foals.
Swear's original design, the 'DEAN' - features the iconic James Dean "Rebel Without a Cause" graphic outsole, successfully marking the brand's instantly recognisable Swear style of the 00's. To date more than one hundred styles and a thousand different colour ways have been designed. The Dean went on to represent the look of a subculture, selling in excess of 1 million pairs worldwide in the process, and establishing Swear as an ever famous cult brand worldwide.
Swear found the initiative and courage to expand and grow as a new creative team was appointed to reposition the brand for Autumn Winter 2010. This included the arrival of Dominic Webster as Creative Designer to strengthen the men's and women's collection. He also oversees the growth of H by Hudson, allowing his knowledge of this equally successful shoe brand to be added in to the mix.
Swear plays with silhouettes and updates shoe traditions to compliment and revitalise ever changing trends and fashion opinions. The brand, in their words 'intends to broaden its horizons by diversifying its product offering to introduce a different calibre of shoe, by using a more satirical approach to footwear design and boasting a more comprehensive range of new and exciting footwear for men and women.'
The men's line remains heavily influenced by music and youth culture, while the women's range does its best to reflect the men's collection, its background and its ethos. The result, a coherent story and design direction, following the mantra 'practicality meets contemporary styling', with an androgynous design stance whilst still keeping an element of femininity.
