Rivet and Hide x Last & Loom New Zealand Made Boots

Over the last seven years, the Wakefield Hotel has become New Zealand’s premier denimhead destination. Fronted by denim-guru and SuperFuture veteran, Hemi Pou, the Wakefield stocks 3sixteenIron Heart, Strike Gold, Pointer Brandand is the worldwide-exclusive collaborator with Christchurch based one man brand Ande Whall.

Wakefield’s line of artisanal New Zealand leather goods, Last & Loom, recently teamed up with UK denim superstore, Rivet and Hide, to produce a special edition of L&L’s bench made leather boots. First, we’d like to give a little background on Pou and his journey with Last & Loom.

Hemi Pou Wakefield Hotel

Wakefield Hotel and Last & Loom owner, Hemi Pou. Image courtesy Cameron Burnell/Fairfax NZ

After firmly grounding Wakefield Hotel within the local community, Pou started Last & Loom three years ago with the goal of manufacturing products that, “Provide local employment, inspiration, and a vehicle to tell our stories overseas. I wanted to work with the best people and brands who shared my values.

He’s traveled the length of the country seeking out raw materials suppliers, often spending months building relationships to persuade traditional producers into supplying him with high-quality New Zealand materials.

Wakefield Hotel Natural Leather workman Belt

Wakefield Hotel’s workman belt in natural leather

Originating as just a small product line run out of the Wakefield brick and mortar, the project soon took on a life of its own. Off the back of limited runs of leather “workman” belts, one-piece card holders and wrist straps, Last and Loom quickly became a fully fledged leather goods manufacturer with their own online store.

But the majority of their cult following comes from the brand’s signature piece of footwear, known simply as The Boot. Born from over three years of prototyping and sourced and produced entirely in New Zealand, Pou’s boots now span the globe as far away as Norway, Canada, and grace the feet of Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle star Bradley Cooper.

Last and Loom The Boot

Pou now aims to keep chipping away at the catch twenty-two of producing in New Zealand, “We don’t have the volume and so we can’t train skilled workers, but you can’t produce the volume without them,” Pou explains. “You come to a tipping point and you’ve just got to go with it, which is what we’ve done. It’s taken me a few years to get just to the stage of making the boot publicly available and now it’s about pushing forward with what we have and getting better.”

Last and Loom sample leather derby shoe

Last & Loom sample leather derby shoe, seen here with an early Wakefield Hotel leather wrist strap

Whilst the brand currently specialises in the supply of handmade leather goods, don’t be surprised if we see a limited run of blue jeans hitting the market before the end of the year.

Rivet and Hide by Last and Loom

Rivet and Hide by Last and Loom boot

Following the launch of the Last & Loom online store, Pou has teamed up with Danny Hodgson, owner of London based denim store Rivet and Hide. The pair have collaborated to design, manufacture, and retail a variation of L&L’s The Boot.

Like the entire Last and Loom collection, the collaboration model is 100% handmade in New Zealand using leather sourced from North Island farms and, “tanned locally in one of the last tanneries in Australasia producing finished leather for footwear.” The boots are held together using sections of a tight coil of brass wire screwed through the midsole and insole, a method dated somewhere between the transition from hammer and nail techniques and the introduction of the Goodyear welt.

Similar styles are currently available on Last & Loom’s webstore. The collaboartion model will be arriving at Rivet and Hide this July.

Details

  • Name: Rivet and Hide x Last and Loom The Boot
  • Materials:
    • 100% natural leather
    • Brass screw wire construction
    • Brass eyelets sourced from a marine canvas manufacturer
  • Source: Handmade in New Zealand using New Zealand reared and tanned leather
  • Available in July at: Rivet and Hide
  • Other models available now at: Last and Loom for $550 – $560 NZD ($470 – $480 USD)

Rivet and Hide by Last and Loom insole