Our design philosophy has always been focused around a respect for those key items in your wardrobe - meaningful essentials that stand the test of time. With ESSEN, we're slowly building a permanent collection of no-compromise pieces: classics that are reinterpreted in new ways so that they're familiar but interesting and chic without effort.

But the simplest shapes are often the most difficult to get right. When we set out to make The Simple Sandal, we were determined to craft it the slow way, but we didn’t anticipate it would take nearly four years!

6 Things You Need To Know About The Simple Sandal

1. It took 4 years, 3 countries, 4 factories, and many skilled hands to get just right. 

2. The best shoes in the world are made by expert craftsmen in Italy who have been making shoes for generations, so that’s where we ended up making this style. We're very careful about how we source all our suppliers and are now fortunate to work with some of the best shoe manufacturers in the world – the same ones that make footwear for some of world's most famous luxury brands.

3. This workshop is based in Le Marche, a historical region best known for Italian shoemaking and considered the world’s oldest and best shoe manufacturing district since 1901. Here, we work with an alliance of skilled artisan shoemakers whose skills are being passed from generation to generation. It’s a solid base of family-run factories and local craftsmen.
   
   
4. After failed attempts with other manufacturers, this workshop was able to produce this style to the quality & comfort we require and is set-up to produce on-demand so we can produce responsibly - minimising waste and avoiding overproduction.

5. The delicate leather straps are carefully positioned to elongate your legs and engineered to keep your foot right where it’s supposed to be. The black & white rand is twisted by hand and inlayed in the handmade outsole, which adds more complexity.

6. The end result is a solid and supportive minimalist design with maximum impact. The high-density memory foam padded footbed delivers all day comfort and the barely-there leather straps are also elasticised, so the fit is extra comfortable. 

Reducing waste is something we strive to do at every point in the process. We cut our raw materials as tightly as possible, using as much as we can.

The artisans go to great lengths to ensure each strap is perfect. 

The delicate leather straps are carefully positioned to the millimetre - elongating your legs and engineered whilst holding your foot firmly in place. 

The Simple Sandal explores the strength of chic simplicity. Combining a timeless perspective with subtle confidence, the result is a closet classic with a modern twist. Shop Now.