ohw?
So, who are ohw?
ohw? is the shared vision of two footwear professionals with many years of experience. Our aim is simple - to bring a fresh approach to men’s footwear with contemporary and functional designs manufactured in our own factory in China.
What defines a ohw? shoe?
Style and function. Our upper designs, while trend led, are kept deliberately simple to allow us to showcase our shoemaking skills through artisan details such as hand-stitching. We use only the best leathers and combine these with advanced materials such as hypoallergenic Ariaprene. Our shoes are also designed to be 'optimum fit' and special features such as combination rubber/phylon soles - more usually found in the midsole of sports shoes - ensure comfort in wear.
Tell us about the production process of your shoes.
We are immensely proud of the standard of our manufacturing and our attention to detail. Unlike many companies that source their footwear from outside suppliers, we have full control over how our shoes are made. Our factory is a third generation family-owned business and the recipient of numerous quality, development and technical awards.
Give us a taster of some of your A/W16 products...
For AW16 we have expanded our collection to six ranges which traverse retro sports, contemporary classics, directional trainer-inspired styles, and functional outdoor and advanced performance designs. Material selection includes waxy suede, hairy suede, full grain and embossed leathers, neoprene, textured rubber and elastic. We have introduced a Goodyear Welted construction for the first time and a more competitively priced range featuring a rubber cupsole unit with a stitched toe guard.
What's important to you? And what inspires you?
Authenticity. We believe our customers should know the provenance of the shoes they buy. From having our own factory to handpicking the people we work with, everything we do is a reflection of who we are. This is the reason we chose the name ohw? (who? reversed) which indicates that everything we do can be traced backwards. Each pair of ohw? shoes is even individually hand-signed by the person in our factory doing the final quality check.
Anything else you'd like to tell us?
For Spring/Summer 17 we introducing more technical materials and designs that are significantly more lightweight and breathable. We are also excited to be introducing ladies’ styles for the first time!