Collection: Reproduction of Found

Reproduction of Found German Army Trainers

Reproduction of Found grew out of its founder's ten-plus years sourcing military surplus for a European vintage shop, working through warehouses of issued gear. The label launched in Tokyo in 2016. As the name suggests, each shoe starts as a found original, a military trainer from somewhere between the 1950s and 1990s, and is reproduced by hand by factories in Slovakia and Romania that made training shoes for armies during that period.

German army trainers, known as GATs, are the label's best-known model. The original was a training shoe issued to the German military in the 1980s, low and close to the foot with a rounded toe. The reproduction keeps that shape and is made in Slovakia, with an upper of Italian suede and soft nappa leather, a pigskin lining, and a thick rubber cup sole.

The German army sneakers at fig. follow the original military pattern and come from factories that built footwear for soldiers in the same era. As men's leather sneakers, GATs are plain enough to wear with tailoring, and the cup sole and pigskin lining keep them comfortable through long days, which makes them dependable everyday men's shoes. The low profile and rounded toe stay neat under men's denim or a cropped trouser, and the suede and nappa soften with wear.

The German pattern is one of several the label reproduces. Other Reproduction of Found sneakers follow the same process, each traced to a specific country's army and era and remade with the same sourcing and handwork.