Coltrane after dark
One of our most recognizable designs, stripped back to its essentials.
Atelier Series No. 3: Coltrane in Onyx
For Atelier Series No. 3, we return to a shoe that has been part of our collection for five years: the Coltrane Wingtip Balmoral Derby.
This time, we wanted to see what would happen if we took away the color.
The result is Coltrane in Onyx — a black handmade patina applied over a textured Reno grain leather upper and paired with a Vibram Commando sole.
Without color competing for attention, other elements come forward: the sweeping Balmoral line, the broguing, the texture of the grain and the shape of the shoe itself.
It may be one of the most understated Coltranes we have made. It may also be one of the easiest to wear.
A Design with History
The Coltrane was originally created in 2021 as the final shoe in our design collaboration with Leffot in New York.
The idea was to bring together elements from two different worlds of shoemaking.
A wingtip and Balmoral line gave the shoe the structure and refinement of a traditional dress shoe. Grain leather, a storm welt and a Vibram Commando sole made it considerably more practical.
We drew those elements around the elongated proportions and asymmetric pattern that define our own approach to shoemaking.
The result was a shoe that never fit neatly into one category — neither a conventional country brogue nor a formal Balmoral.
Five years later, the Coltrane remains one of the most recognizable designs in our collection.
For Atelier Series No. 3, we return to the original idea and take it in perhaps its most versatile direction yet: black.
When Black Isn't Flat
Onyx is black. But black does not have to mean flat.
Reno grain has a pronounced surface texture that interacts with light very differently from smooth box calf. Across the peaks and valleys of the leather, black takes on depth and movement.
Our Onyx patina is applied and finished by hand in Barcelona, building the color gradually rather than leaving the upper with a completely uniform surface. The effect is deliberately subtle.
From a distance, it is unmistakably a black shoe. Up close, light begins to reveal the texture of the leather, the broguing and the contours of the upper.
On a design with as much going on as the Coltrane, black brings a certain restraint.
It allows the shoe itself to do the talking.
Look at the Pattern
Turn the Coltrane around and one of its most important details becomes easier to see.
There is no center back seam.
Most traditionally patterned shoes join the two sides of the upper with a vertical seam running directly up the back of the heel. Our asymmetric pattern moves that seam around to the inside of the foot instead.
It requires a more complex pattern and uses leather less efficiently, but it leaves the rear and outside of the shoe uninterrupted.
On the Coltrane, that distinction is particularly noticeable. The Balmoral line can continue around the shoe without meeting another vertical line at the heel.
It is the kind of detail that can easily go unnoticed at first.
Once you see it, however, the difference becomes difficult not to see.
Dressed Up. Built for the Street.
There is something deliberately contradictory about the Coltrane.
Look at it from above and you see the language of classic shoemaking: a wingtip, broguing and the sweeping line of a Balmoral. Look underneath and there is a Vibram Commando sole.
That combination changes how the shoe can be worn.
With grey flannel or tailoring, the black upper and elongated silhouette keep it refined. With denim, corduroy or heavier trousers, the grain leather and Commando sole give it enough weight to feel completely at home.
And unlike a more delicate dress shoe, this is a pair we would encourage you to wear when the weather is less than perfect.
The Onyx version makes the proposition particularly simple. It is a black shoe with character, built to be worn often.
Finished by Hand in Barcelona
The final character of every Coltrane in this Atelier Series will be developed in our Barcelona workshop.
The Onyx patina is applied by hand, working the black into the textured Reno grain and gradually developing the depth of the finish. From there, we turn our attention to the rest of the shoe.
The welt, edges and heel are individually worked and refined before the pair receives its final polishing.
These hours of hand-finishing are an important part of how we make our Ready-to-Wear shoes. They allow us to work with the individual characteristics of each piece of leather rather than trying to make every pair look mechanically identical.
Subtle variations from one pair to another are therefore natural.
Each will be recognizably Onyx. Each will also be finished individually.
Atelier Series No. 3
For No. 3, we take the Coltrane back to its most essential palette.
Black Reno grain. Onyx handmade patina. A Vibram Commando sole.
Just a very useful shoe with a lot to discover when you look more closely.
Available to reserve August 19 – September 2.