Yes, after 10 years of laboriously painting the soles of our shoes red, we've decided to embrace a paint-free future. 

Why? 

1) Painting soles is one of the most complex parts of our shoe production and has always been difficult to get 100% right. Our shoemakers are relieved they won't have to do it anymore and if that means their lives are .05% less stressful, or a few minutes longer, then we're happy. 

2) It's not in keeping with our vaguely Bauhaus principles.It serves no function, when the embossing of our soles is already super visible without paint. 

3) It's hardly sustainable. A paint strong enough to remain on a shoe sole in constant contact with the ground is not something that needs to be in the world without good reason. 

4) Even on the best painted sole, it just doesn't last forever. And if we wanted to build something beautiful for its transience, there are more transient and more beautiful things we could build. 

We're still gonna have red-soled shoes in stock for quite some time. If you order today, there's a good chance your soles will be painted. 

But here's what our soles will look like in the future... 

Goodbye, red painted soles.

Goodbye. 

And thank you for the memories.