How Flow—the new shoe you can wear at home and out and about—was born

Elegant and durable as an everyday shoe, yet comfy and light as a slipper. A versatile and innovative shoe that you'll feel smart and at ease wearing whatever the occasion, whether you're at home or out and about. Offering that signature Löwenweiss comfort both in and beyond the confines of your own home, Flow adapts to the wearer's mood and engagements.

The idea of creating a shoe like this began to take shape in 2020 during the strange, dilated period of the first lockdown. Building on the desires expressed by our customers, we organised a brainstorming session to bring all the suggestions received over the past few months together and select those most consistent with Löwenweiss' philosophy. During this meeting, we drew up a wishlist to guide us when designing Flow.

I'd like…

• A slipper I can wear both at home and outdoors

• A versatile shoe in the form of a slipper

• A shoe suitable for all foot shapes

• Something easy and without laces

• A shoe that's "easy" to wear for various everyday activities (shopping, errands, etc.)

• A product that works with different outfit styles (casual, sporty, elegant, etc.)

• A shoe that gives your feet plenty of room to breathe

At that point, we asked ourselves if a product that met these needs was already on the market. After carrying out some research online, we were very surprised to learn that there was no shoe that fully matched all the characteristics on the list: a comfortable, easy-to-wear shoe that you can wear at home and out and about. We had identified something that really could become a "niche product": what remained was to work out if and how this idea, which was gradually taking shape, could become a reality.

Alongside the realisation that this was potentially a significant opportunity, there was another important question to answer: “How can a brand known for slippers come up with a model that's neither all-slipper nor all-everyday shoe?”. On many other occasions, we had given up on creating something different from the classic slipper, because it would have either been too far removed from our identity or too similar to other products on the market.

On the other hand, during the lockdown period, the restrictive measures in place forced many of us to toy with new forms of hybrid working able to eliminate the barriers between our home and workplace. We rediscovered the joy of working in slippers, with our feet free from stifling shoes.  As the boundaries between our private and work life were blurring, the idea of creating a shoe suited to both no longer seemed so far-fetched.

So we started thinking about the most suitable materials to use, which would be selected based on comfort and durability: we settled on recycled wool felt and suede for the upper, and Vibram rubber for the sole. As with other Löwenweiss shoes, the combination of age-old production techniques—such as stitching the upper by hand—and modern methods—the use of high-precision machines to create the sole—allows us to create warm, soft, comfortable and lightweight shoes you can wear any time of day.

From 2020 onwards, we focused our efforts on developing a number of prototypes to test the product on people and different feet: the feedback received helped us to improve the comfort, design and practicality of the Flow shoe. Once the finished model had come together, the only thing left to come up with was a name.

As we discussed in the article “The flow theory reveals the secret to happiness”, entering a state of flow enables us to focus completely on a task at hand, as we're deeply motivated to complete it and derive great satisfaction from doing so. These are the instances in which we give the best of ourselves in terms of creativity and productivity, both when working and engaging in our favourite activities. But that's not all: when we enter a state of flow, we feel like we're in full control of our actions, happy and the masters of our own fate.

Flow is a shoe designed to provide maximum comfort while promoting calmness and concentration. We at Löwenweiss know full well that physical and mental well-being starts at our feet and that the shoes we wear have a significant impact on not just our mood, but also our performance at work and our creativity.