Casablanca Teams Up With Ancient Greek Sandals on Shoe Capsule for Fall 2024
Casablanca debuted a new shoe collaboration with Ancient Greek Sandals during its Grecian themed fall/winter 2024 runway presentation in Paris on Wednesday.
According to the Paris-based brand it has teamed up with Ancient Greek Sandals on a range of six men’s styles and two women’s styles that reimagine the footwear brand’s signature silhouettes. The range features embroidered laurels and shearing details across a number of styles and will be available for purchase later this year.
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In a virtual walkthrough in late January, Casablanca art director Steve Grimes, who heads up the footwear design for the fashion label, previewed the new shoe collection for FN.
“It’s been fun is trying to winterize a bit the some of that classic sandal styles for this project,” Grimes told FN. “So, one of the things we’re working on is a neoprene boots that’s water resistant, but has details that follow the leather straps seen in the sandals, so it has that feeling of being a Greek sandal, but as a boot. And then, particularly for men’s, we’ve got some more classic styles, some with shearling linings that are a bit more cozy.”
This new collaboration comes as Grimes and Casablanca founder and creative director Charaf Tajer focused on growing the footwear category.
“The responses to the designs are always hugely positive, and we’ve seen some great performance in sneakers – with The Court Sneaker just released,” Grimes said. “I think, as a new category, there is still huge potential to grow and do better, and still a lot of work for us to do to make even more of an impact in this category.”
Casablanca officially launched its first in-house shoe in November 2022. The Parisian brand, which before the launch had a steady footwear collaboration with New Balance, stepped out on its own for the first time with its Atlantis sneaker. The style remains a core part of the company’s sneaker business, with new colorways added each season. In November 2023, Casablanca launched its second trainer – the retro tennis inspired Court sneaker.
In terms of sales, Grimes noted that The Court Sneaker is the brand’s best-seller. “Design-wise, my top style is still very much The Arches Sneaker – which is still in development, and will release later this year – I’m very excited to put that into the world,” he said.
As for the mix of men’s and women’s shoe styles, Grimes added that it’s an even mix, especially since some of the sneaker offering is unisex. “Similarly our classic loafers are developed as men’s and women’s styles,” Grimes said. “For women’s specifically, we have been exploring a wider variety of heels and more evening styles, and these are balanced by loafers, boots and formal styles in men’s. So it is a pretty equal split.”
Looking ahead, Grimes added that Casablanca offers a potential to build an entire wardrobe, something to wear to any occasion. “I want to be able to create products that support the identity of somebody embodying the brand wherever they go, so whether you need a slide for the beach or after sport, something everyday to walk around the city in, something sleek for the evening etc… Even if you are going hiking in the mountains, I want there to be a Casablanca shoe for that,” he said.
As for Ancient Greek Sandals, the 12-year-old brand is steadily growing. In June, the made in Greece footwear brand debuted its latest men’s collection under a new head of menswear, Alain Leber, with an event during Pitti Uomo. Launching for spring 2024, Leber’s first men’s collection includes refined leather flip flops, suede two-strap designs, slides and leather fisherman sandals.
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