After being established in 2015, Mallet.Footwear is now one of the hottest brands out, the exciting footwear brand retails online in high-end stores across the United Kingdom and Europe. Verge sits with Mallet.Footwear’s creative director Tommy Mallet, to discuss the rise of the brand.
How did you come up with the idea for the brand?
Mallet was created in 2015, all from one drawing, I had just started taking part in reality TV and at the time filming was seven days a week. The seven different outfits I was wearing every week for the show was hurting my already empty pockets and starting to pile up debt that was becoming a little uncontrollable, back then the craze of Italian luxury sneakers was starting to become a thing for my age group.
At the time I wanted all of the current luxury sneakers but couldn’t afford them, so I put my pencil to paper and started sketching what I thought would be the perfect affordable luxury sneaker that could be worn everyday, with all kinds of outfits to match my lifestyle.
Tell us the background story about how you got started?
I reached out to a friend who was living abroad working on manufacturing in the clothing industry and asked him if he had any resources that could point us in the right direction, within two weeks my now partner Evren came to London and presented exactly what I wanted, we became partners and the rest is history.
How would you describe the range?
Mallet London specialises in detailed mesh and metal hardware, as the creative director I like the effect of tower blocks and metal mesh doors that were once the doors I used to walk through to get into the estates when I was a kid.
For us to move forward as a brand I have to go back to my childhood and think of key moments that stick with me as an adult and how I was feeling at the time, for example the Popham: the Popham Estate was the first place I ever lived, as a kid I remember it being a rough area but to me it was just home, that’s the reason I used an aggressive approach on the outside of the shoe but lined it with soft leather and a memory foam sole, because no matter how bad things looked on the outside I was comfortable on the inside with my environment.
When choosing materials for this shoe I used a very soft nubuck suede, the reason I chose this is because my school was in the middle of the estate and the teachers had a soft approach with us, giving us the time we needed considering we was naughty kids – when wearing Mallet you really are walking in my shoes.
There’s many ‘edgy’ brands that scream London, but we really do represent the life of an everyday Londoner aspiring to be someone.
What’s your personal favourite?
It’s impossible to pick a favourite from our collection, they are all like my kids, but the Popham has a great story along with the Packington.
Any advice to anyone who wants to start their own label?
Don’t stop until you are proud, if you fall at the first hurdle get straight back up – you have work to do! Be accountable and take as much advice as you can to build and grow.
Lastly, any plans for the future?
Building mallet into a worldwide known, go-to brand.
Check out the range here mallet.com
