Interview: Shoe Designer John Fluevog On New Book, Spirituality And ‘Slow Fashion’ – Forbes

Popular shoe designer John Fluevog has detailed the origins of his creative life, hobbies, and business in a new book, Fluevog: 50 Years of Unique Soles for Unique Souls, out today from LifeTree Media. The coffee table book traces the history of his retail business, from an earlier Vancouver store, Fox & Fluevog, to his own path to designing. Along the way, it also explores his interests in spirituality and cars, his personal highs and lows, his design process, including messages on the soles, sustainability, his company’s charitable endeavors, and celebrity fans of the brand such as Lady Miss Kier of Deee-Lite, Alice Cooper, Madonna and others.

While Fluevog has taken a step back from running the day-to-day operations of the company, he’s still deeply involved, writing that “the Fluevogers and Fluevogologists are my family,” with a book tour starting Thursday in Vancouver, and continuing across Canada and the United States at Fluevog stores. Via email, John Fluevog answered my questions about writing the book, why his shoes are “slow fashion,” collaborating with customers and the use of “Fluevog” as a verb.

Why did you want to write this book?

I’m amazed myself that I am still in business after 50 years. I wanted to celebrate! It dawned on me that 50 years in the fashion boutique business as a designer and operator is a rare thing. I have never had any investors. I built the business “old school”—one step at a time. In one way you could say “what took you so long?” but in another there are not many small retailers/designers around from when I started and even fewer who have managed to keep the energy through five decades of fashion industry changes and still be around today. It seemed to be worth celebrating.

I also thought that my customers would like to celebrate with me! I wanted to show them all the different eras—some people remember me from the ’90s, some from the ’80s and the ’70s. Most of my customers now don’t realize I was selling platform disco shoes in the early ’70s. I was part of a lot of generations of youth and experiences. For our newest fans, I wanted to show them our history.

I admit I’m not all that organized. I’m messy and was never in the habit of keeping things, so taking the time to put the history in one book and place seemed… dare I say responsible?

Finally, I just wanted the book to serve as an encouragement to others—to see how one guy who didn’t think he was good enough, never went to business school or art school, and barely graduated from high school managed to listen to his heart, take a chance and pull himself past his comfort zone, and—through trial and error—build a company by trusting his feelings.

What’s the one thing about Fluevog shoes that you think have made them so popular?

My first answer is I don’t know. The second would involve looking at somewhat offbeat designs that aren’t necessarily on trend but when viewed over time look even better. I have sold a lot of shoes over the years and I know the feeling of what comes over a person when they look in a mirror and it clicks. I look for that feeling when I’m putting them together but perhaps the biggest thing is that I see the shoes as a way of entering into a different world. I tell stories with the shoes and the wearer can enter into my stories. It also helps that my head brand/marketing guy, Stephen Bailey, also gets the other world that we all want to escape to. Life is hard and brutal—make believe is part of the human experience we all need.

You mention throughout the book the role spirituality has played in your life and the Fluevog brand. How is that different from religion, and how do you weave it into the brand to appeal to both believers and non-believers?

I don’t consider myself religious. Religion is man-made. Yes, I have a faith. Yes, I believe. I for sure don’t look to convert anyone. What I do want to do is understand the spirit of God that has been implanted in all of us. I took the boldness to ingrate my journey into what I do. Things come to me (mostly questions) when I’m designing and I just write them down and sometimes put them on the shoes. My designs “come to me”—I consider myself a conduit.

I love the idea that we are all beautifully, uniquely made. There was no mistake and we all try to work together, the weak, the strong, in a mosaic to make the world a better place. The same love goes out to all of us.

You use Fluevog as a verb, as in when you “Fluevoged” one of your cars, and “Don’t Delay, Fluevog Today.” What does Fluevog the verb mean to you?

Yes, you can “Fluevog” most things. The good, the bad, and the ugly. For example: Drink too much, and you can get Fluevog’d, or “What the Fluevog?!”

In 1969, when Peter Fox suggested “Fox and Fluevog” as a company name, I was really not sure about it. Back then, I saw my name as a slight embarrassment. My grandfather changed it from Nielson to Fluevog to avoid the mail getting mixed up in a farming community in North Dakota. It’s the name of a small hamlet of houses in Norway on a fjord. Turns out, it’s the best name ever for a shoe brand. Different enough, a little hard to know how to pronounce it, but once you get it, it’s hard to forget. Plus the name has no attachments to any known thing and one does wonder: What is a Fluevog?

You started out as and have continued to be an environmentally friendly brand you describe as “the opposite of fast fashion.” Why is this so important to you?

It should be the natural way in which we live. I have to say, it was much simpler when we did not know the effects of all our actions, but now we do and there is no excuse not to act in the best way possible.

The truth is the very nature of our business is not environmentally friendly. The shipping of the product alone adds pollution. But we try where we can. We offer soles that are recycled or biodegradable and materials that are ethically produced.

One of the most popular conscious things we do is hosting our “Fluemarket,” where one can buy or sell their gently loved Fluevogs around the world. People make new connections and the shoes can carry on their life with a new owner. We of course don’t take a fee for this in any way.

We try to build in quality and enduring style into the product so that in 10 years the shoes don’t look dated but look like awesome Fluevogs. We carry replacement soles and heels for most of the shoes so the shoes can carry on a life and not be thrown prematurely. We often joke that we practice SLOW FASHION.

I thank my team for all the effort they put into trying to reduce our footprint. This is an area we constantly think about while making and bring the shoes to market. I trust that in the future, we can come up with ways to do even more.

You mention your customers are often collaborators. How does that philosophy enhance your business?

Our customers more than collaborate—I’d almost say that they are taking the brand to new places… places that I had not thought of.

They are very engaged. So much so that when I meet them on occasion at events or elsewhere, they feel free to tell me what I should be doing! (That’s actually what led to Open Source Footwear.)

It always occurred to me that people want to attach themselves to a brand so they can look and be seen as a certain kind of person. I like to think that Fluevog connects others to a moral point of view that works for them. It feels to me that most fashion brands want to come across as making one feel better than others, or aspirational to a lifestyle that is above the one that their customers currently have.

I’d like to think that my customers see the brand as a community of like-minded people. One that they can attach themselves to without saying “I’m better than you.” They come from all walks of life.

It should be said that the common comment I get is “Don’t get me wrong, I like your shoes John, but I love your staff.” I get this comment not just about one store but all of them. How great is that!?

It’s like we opened a space for them and they walked in. The Fluevogers are truly a community and I am very thankful for it and never take it for granted. I have to say I’m not really sure how it happened—it continues to grow and amaze me.

How has the Fluevog brand changed in the last 50 years, and what’s stayed the same?

The core of the brand is the same as it was 50 years ago. I’d call it alternative in 1970 and I’d call it an alternative brand in 2020. I always viewed the brand and the styles as an alternative to mainstream fashion. I know that others in the footwear industry look at me and wonder how I sell my shoes, as they seem to sometimes fly in the face of current fashion. But to me that’s the magic. That’s what I want and that’s what my customers want. I see the styles as purely coming from the heart. Think of fresh water coming down the side of a mountain and pouring into the dry valley below. The water is pure at the top and even when it gets to a broader market the water is still pure. The styles are not muddied or polluted. Perhaps it’s because I have no shareholders to answer to, that I can do the things I do the way I want to do them. For better or worse! Hahahaha!

Do you have a personal favorite shoe you’ve designed?

My little Mini shoes really saved my life at the time and I like them… but If I had to pick, I’d say the Grand Nationals. They are so original and have a primal sexuality about them.

You grew up in Canada and Fluevog is a Canadian-based company. How has that affected your approach to design and business? Are there elements of the Fluevog brand that are distinctly Canadian?

Truth is I could be American. I may be more American than many Americans. In the 1880s my grandfather on my mother’s side at the age of 8 helped drive the mules on the Oregon trail from St. Louis to a small town called Wilber in eastern Washington state. From there he moved to Alberta and was a foreman building railway bridges through the Rocky Mountains. My father’s side came to North Dakota from Norway and farmed and then homesteaded in Alberta, Canada. Having said that I’m very happy to be Canadian. Particularly the west coast of Canada (I just love it here).

From a fashion point of view, it’s a great place to view the world from afar. I don’t get sucked into a fashion vortex like I might if I lived in a big fashion city. Vancouver, aside from being a beautiful place, doesn’t have a lot of history and has a high amount of immigration—we are writing our own history and I’m a tiny piece of that.

What’s next for Fluevog the brand and for you personally?

On the brand level I have never known what’s next. I tend to go one step at a time. But I have noticed, for example, that if I start thinking about a store in Europe strangely I end up having a store in Europe.

I have to say that from the beginning I have always thought that the brand is worthy of a more global presence. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but either way I’m not worried and I won’t risk the company’s future pushing it.

On the personal level, retiring has never interested me. I am happy to say that I’m at a point now where I can work as hard or as easy as I want. I recall one day feeling a little melancholy about not being so involved in the operations. At that same time I had a sense, or voice in my head say “John, have greater expectations!” Since that time I have been doing just that. Jumping in and taking more risks and not trying to make my life more easy but trying new things and exploring more possibilities. This is of course reliant on having an amazingly competent team––something I haven’t always had the luxury of. I’m enjoying the mystery of the unknown. It’s exciting for me to think that when I get older it’s not over.

Is there a favorite message that’s been on your shoes?

“To love to hate the choice is yours.” It’s so simple yet so profound… it’s something I personally can find challenging at times.

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