Note: At our request, Crown Northampton agreed to send us the loafers that you will discover in this article.

At the 26th Salon des Indépendants in Paris in 1910, visitors could admire a painting entitled "And the Sun settled on the Adriatic", signed by a certain Joachim-Raphaël Boronali. At the time, this painting caused a great stir. Indeed, the lively polychrome brushstrokes used by this mysterious artist left visitors perplexed. At the end of the Salon, the public was flabbergasted as they discovered the artist was none other than...a donkey. This little experiment, at the initiative of Roland Dorgelès, was to prove it was indeed possible to "paint like a donkey, praise a picture and also contribute to modern painting".

This curious History of Art anecdote allows us to approach the art of illusion. Illusion not in the intention to deceive, but in that of blending into the background. To this end, a men’s wardrobe is full of pieces allowing us to follow this doctrine. For instance, military clothing with camouflage patterns - "camo", for the most knowledgeable - have invaded the streets in recent years.

However, there is a missing link for an outfit to be in complete harmony: footwear. How does one dress the feet with a little fantasy? Why should this only be reserved for the upper body? Fortunately, we found the answer to this unsupportable dilemma.

The English brand Crown Northampton - on which we had already written about - has partnered up with Anthony Sylvester, a brilliant journalist, giving birth to an absolutely unique pair of shoes: the Brockton Belgian Loafer. Their inimitable quality is what makes them beautiful: the upper resembles a leopard’s coat.

We are truly honored to present them to all our readers, through an interview of Anthony Sylvester, founder of the new brand AWMS.

You've recently launched your own brand, AWMS. What made you choose slippers over more "traditional" shoes (derbies, loafers, sneakers...)?

Over lockdown, I simply stopped wearing shoes with laces completely. I went from indoor shoes to outdoor shoes seamlessly - essentially replacing one pair of slippers for another. Just before that happened, Crown Northampton made me a special-order pair of their Brockton slippers in black kudu suede with a cordovan apron and they became my de facto uniform for the next year or so. They're deceptively hard wearing and tough for such a delicate looking shoe.

I started the brand a little under a year ago with the ethos of making things that I wanted that didn't already exist in the world, so a special Brockton slipper with an animal print apron certainly fit that criteria!

Leopard, cheetah and jaguar. Those are the animals you chose to print on your collaboration with Crown Northampton. Do these animals mean something special to you ? Why choose to offer your (unique !) slippers in these particular animal prints ?

I love animal print in menswear. It works in a similar way to camouflage in my opinion, and has been utilized by subcultures from the rockers to the punks. I thought they would add a little flamboyant touch to a very classy and discreet shoe. The specific prints were chosen to compliment the suede colours of the body of the shoe. I think they work perfectly.

Northampton is the UK's "leather belt", what made you choose Crown Northampton over any other manufacturer ?

I think Crown Northampton have a rich and varied heritage, and make some exciting and unique offerings - the Jazz collection in particular. So many Northampton makers just make variations on a theme, whereas Crown are genuinely forward thinking. Also, their business model is "made-to-order" which I think is both practical and ethical.

How do you convince someone who has never worn animal print shoes to do so ? Where should one start ?

If you can wear camo, you can wear animal print. Let the shoes be the accent to the outfit and keep everything else fairly neutral or restrained.

Lastly, how would you pair them in an outfit ?

The leopard print I would wear with old 501s, white socks and a beaten-up old Oxford shirt. The Jaguar with a grey flannel suit with cashmere socks and rollneck. And the Cheetah with Gurkha shorts, no socks and a camp collar shirt.
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Thanks a ton Anthony !

Regarding size, we recommend you choose your usual one. In our case, a 6.5UK. The Kudu leather as well as the half-rubber sole make them a perfect indoor or outdoor shoe. The Crown x AWMS Belgian Loafers are a true home-run from our point of view !

Thank you once again Anthony for taking the time off your busy schedule and thank you Crown Northampton for trusting us in the long run.

If you wish to order your pair, please let us know or write to info@crownnorthampton.com to order your MTO pair, you won’t regret it !