HYPEBEAST: SKATE SHOES GOT BORING. VILLAGE PM DECIDED TO FIX IT.

26 Dec HYPEBEAST: SKATE SHOES GOT BORING. VILLAGE PM DECIDED TO FIX IT.

Before the industry’s biggest athletic labels ruled skateboarding, there was a golden era of independent skate shoe brands that offered stylistic, functional, and highly individual products — shoes that set the standard for the sport. Twenty years later, Village PM is bringing back this mindset. While doing so, the Paris-based independent footwear brand has drawn global attention. In less than a year, it has made its way into Europe and Japan’s most demanding doors, skateboarding and fashion alike.

Founded by lifelong skateboarders Basile Lapray and Bram De Cleen, Village PM grew out of a simple realization: skate shoes had started to feel more like pure equipment than something you’d actually want to wear every day. Together, they saw a gap in a market that had gone flat and decided to fill it on their own terms.

The brand’s staple silhouette, the 1PM, was born from the idea of balancing durability and sensitivity — something strong and durable, yet easy to break in, soft and sticky enough to offer the precise board feel they were searching for. Drawing on Lapray’s experience in outdoor footwear, the team looked to climbing shoes for inspiration, studying how they combine precision, grip, and longevity. Rather than relying on traditional vulcanized or cupsole construction, the 1PM, as well as the derivative 1.30PM, features Village PM’s signature patented Rubber Glove Construction, built from premium climbing rubber and developed through repeated lab testing, sample cycles, and countless kickflips on patched-up Nikes and Vans.

View the full article over at Hypebeast