S&V Footwear & Leather Goods Magazine Vol87 No4 April 2021
This Magazine is sponsored by SAFLIA
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IN THIS ISSUE:
03 Opinion - IP: Where do rights end and greed begin?
- 'Satan' shoes: Nike vs MSCHF.
- Air Force 1 USPS: U.S. Postal Service vs Nike.
- The value of sneakers as collectibles.
06 The U.S. Market
- Strong recovery for apparel and restaurants.
- Sneakernomics: Let's talk about walking shoes as a category, suggests Matt Powell
07 Technology
- Texon launches ProWeave as a "unique weaving technology" with applications in footwear and PPE.
09 Trade Fairs
- IFEMA: Spanish fair organiser says hybrid events will lead to significant growth.
10 Notice Board
- Looking back: Mussa Hajat of Footwear Centre, Malawi.
- Obituary: Marco Di Lembo, Villani Shoes.
- Obituary: Brian Wallis, BU, Newtech, Shoetech and Safety-Boyz.
Advertisers in this Issue
BBF Safety Group (OFC), Creative Leathergoods (8), Deluxe Footwear (6), Freestyle (3), Saddler Belts (7), Shoepack (4).
In The Next Issue:
- Industrial Footwear.
Out on May 12
We've revamped our trade fair calendar. Visit https://www.svmag.co.za/events
- 'Satan Shoes' to be recalled as Nike agrees to settle lawsuit
BBC, April 09, 2021 - Nike says the art collective which made "Satan Shoes" that purportedly contain a drop of human blood in the soles has agreed to issue a voluntary recall as part of a legal settlement. The $1,018 (£740) trainers are modified Nike Air Max 97s. Only 666 pairs were made and all but one have been shipped. ...more'The Nike Air Force 1 USPS' Experimental shoe is neither licensed nor otherwise authorized by the U.S. Postal Service
(April 1, 2021) - The Postal Service, which receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations, protects its intellectual property. Officially licensed products sold in the marketplace expand the affinity for the Postal Service brand and provide incremental revenu ...moreThe value of sneakers as collectibles
The reasoning behind MSCHF's launch was that some branded sneakers have become popular as collectibles. Another BBC story, on April 16, was headlined "Kanye West's $1m Yeezy shoes are 'most valuable to go on auction'." Extracts from that article included these gems: In recent years, sneakers have gained the same collectable stat ...moreProWeave: 'A step forward in woven technology' for shoes and PPE, says Texon
Prato, Italy - Texon, bust known to the footwear industry as a cellulose insole board manufacturer, has launched "a unique, patented, jacquard weaving technology", branded ProWeave, which will allow customers to custom design fabric which is then made by Texon. Texon says it has applications for the footwear, apparel, fashion an ...moreIFEMA: Spanish fair organiser says hybrid events will lead to significant growth
Madrid, Spain (April 13, 2021) - Spanish trade fair organiser IFEMA Madrid, which includes the twice-yearly Momad shoe fairs in its portfolio of over 50 fairs, says digital platforms and services and the hybridisation of its fairs will add 30% to current turnover over the next 3 years, adding more than €40 million in revenue. L ...moreA proud moment: Looking back: Mussa Hajat, Footwear Centre
Blantyre, Malawi - Mussa Hajat, founder of Footwear Centre, is pictured above receiving an Omega watch from Bata Rhodesia MD, Dr Fiksel, at Bata's head office in Gwelo, in 1957. He started work with Bata in 1950 as a salesman in Bata's Blantyre shop, and rose to become sales manager of all Bata's retail shops in Nyasaland. He finally left ...moreThe life and soul of Villani - Obituary: Marco Di Lembo - Villani Shoes (30/07/1973-06/04/2021)
Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Marco Di Lembo, the owner of Villani Shoes, died tragically on April 06, aged 47. Born in Johannesburg to Michele and Rosella Di Lembo, he went to Robertsham Primary Junior School before progressing to Sir John Adamson High School. While in high school, Marco matured and earned academic distinctions and partici ...moreItalian shoe machinery expert - Obituary: Brian Wallis - BU, Newtech, Shoetech and Safety-Boyz (16/10/1945-09/04/2021)
Durban, KZN, SA - Shoe machinery expert Brian Wallis died unexpectedly on April 09, aged 75. Born and raised in Port Elizabeth, he entered the footwear industry in his early 20s when he joined British United, at that time by far the dominant force in footwear machinery in SA, where he trained as a machinery technician. There he also met h ...moreStrong recovery for apparel and restaurantsExtract from Shop-Eat-Surf, April 15, 2021- The federal government’s monthly retail numbers released Thursday morning backup what we have been hearing anecdotally from industry retailers and brands: consumers opened their wallets in a big way in March.U.S. retail sales grew 9.8% in March compared to the previous month. And most inte ...moreLet's talk about walking shoesWe all know about the running shoe boom. More people are running, trying to stay healthy while also remaining socially distant. Sales of running shoes are up compared to a year ago. I’m firmly convinced we’ll see running shoes return as street wear, something we have not seen in over 8 years. But there is a related trend that ...more
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Footwear Industry Articles
- Wayne's Phambili range: Practical boots from non-safety to full protection
Roodepoort, Gauteng, SA – Wayne's Phambili range combines everyday comfort, dependable durability and clearly defined levels of protection in a practical range of PVC work boots. Developed for demanding working environments, the 3-boot lineup makes it easy to choose the protection best suited to the job while delivering the comfort ...moreComrades Expo 2026
Durban, KZN, SA – The exhibitor list at the Comrades Expo, from 11-13 June, has shown an evolution in the types of companies exhibiting. Just 1 running footwear supplier, Ikhambi Distribution, promoting its Hoka brand, was there.Technical sock suppliers, however, were well represented, with Balega, Falke, Sox Footwear and The Hirst ...moreNew generation nonwoven components lead the way towards biodegradable shoes
Compostable and biodegradable footwear is becoming a reality.The nova-Institut für politische und ökologische Innovation GmbH in Hürth, Germany, has published an updated version of its poster, 'Biodegradable Polymers in Various Environments', and project manager Kristijan Mršić told Shoes & Views that several of ...more
Leather Industry Articles
- Sam Setter's 'Pills': You have to be very clever to understand this document, but hopefully it will do some goodIn June, UNIDO launched an impressive document called “Guideline”. It is a very detailed, environment oriented, technical and scientific document where the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Corporate Carbon Footprint (CCP) play a prominent role. The document, peer reviewed, has been developed for UNIDO with the main contributor ...more‘FMD is here to stay – we have to learn to live with it and manage it’
Pretoria, Gauteng, SA – FMD is no longer a series of isolated outbreaks; it has become a national systemic risk, and we need to shift our mindset from emergency response to living with and managing FMD responsibly. The pressure is already showing in the numbers. Our latest figures show cattle slaughter down 12% and sheep slaughter d ...moreBeyond the data trap: Why better decisions matter more than just more data
On 1st July 2026 I presented at the FILK Leather Days conference and asked the delegates to consider “Sustainability through a new lens: resetting how we view impacts in the leather value chain”. This month’s article therefore explores this idea a little more with a focus on how we view data and whether it can blind us t ...more
PPE Industry Articles
- Biodegradable disposable gloves ‘a growing trend’ in PPE
The poster is available to download in English in both PNG and PDF formats hereCompostable and biodegradable PPE are said to be rapidly growing trends internationally, lead by brands like Showa and HaPPE Earth.The nova-Institut für politische und ökologische Innovation GmbH in Hürth, Germany, has published an updated versio ...moreGlobal stage for occupational safety innovations: exhibitor registration for A+A 2027 has begun
Düsseldorf, Germany – The next A+A fair will be held from 19 to 22 October 2027.Since 16 June 2026 exhibitors have been able to register for A+A 2027. Companies and organisations from around the world are invited to introduce their innovations and solutions for safety and health at work and sustainable prevention to an int ...moreFurther controls over the import of safety footwear are on the wayOn 03 August 2026, the Safety Footwear Working Group, led by SAFLIA, submitted a request to Minister Tau (dtic) for interim import control measures in respect of specified safety footwear. The request was strongly supported by organised labour and other industry stakeholders.The application was further strengthened by contributions f ...more
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