ABOUT
BORN IN LONDON. MADE IN MELBOURNE.
ESTABLISHED IN 2019, UNDER THE CREATIVE DIRECTION OF MELBOURNE-VIA-LONDON DESIGNER, TIM GLEIG, TWO FIVE IS A CONTEMPORARY FOOTWEAR LABEL THAT BLENDS THE BEST QUALITIES OF LEATHER, DRESSIER SILHOUETTES AND ICONIC STREET STYLES.
YOUR SHOES ARE A REFLECTION OF YOU, AND IN OUR CASE THIS COULDN’T BE TRUER AS EACH PAIR OF TWO FIVES IS DESIGNED IN COLLABORATION WITH ITS FUTURE WEARER. CRAFTED FROM A CURATED SELECTION OF LEATHER TONES AND TEXTURES OF YOUR CHOOSING, EVERY SINGLE PAIR IS UNIQUE, PERSONAL AND MEMORABLE, MADE BY HAND IN OUR COBURG STUDIO, AND INTENDED FOR EVERYDAY USE. BECAUSE WHY SAVE THE GOOD STUFF FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS?
OUR SIX STITCH SILHOUETTE IS THE PRODUCT OF YEARS OF EXPERIMENTATION, AND WE’RE PROUD TO SHARE A TIMELESS LEATHER SHOE THAT FEELS LIKE A SNEAKER. ABOVE AND BEYOND ITS PREMIUM LOOK AND FEEL, LEATHER IS A NATURAL CO-PRODUCT THAT WEARS WELL, AGES WELL AND IS ULTIMATELY BIODEGRADABLE. BY NATURE OF OUR BESPOKE PRACTICES, WE WASTE LESS, BUT WE’RE NOT A SUSTAINABLE BRAND. WHO IS? WHAT WE’RE REALLY ABOUT AS A BRAND IS A PRODUCT THAT WILL TURN HEADS TODAY AND TOMORROW, AND THAT YOU’LL TURN TO FOR YEARS TO COME.
HAILING FROM SOUTH LONDON, TIM GLEIG IS A MULTIFACETED CREATIVE AND THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND OUR BRAND. BUT WHAT ON EARTH DRIVES SOMEONE TO START A FOOTWEAR LABEL? THE JOURNEY STARTS WITH A BACKDROP OF LONDON SE25 – GET IT, TWO FIVE – AS TIM’S EARLIEST FASCINATION WITH FOOTWEAR STEMS FROM THE CHARACTERS AND CULTURES THAT MADE UP HIS SURROUNDINGS.
“WHERE I’M FROM PEOPLE DIDN’T BUY CARS, AND PEOPLE DIDN’T HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY DESIGNER GARMS. BUT TRAINERS, YOU COULD BUY. THAT WAS YOUR BIG PURCHASE AND WHAT YOU USED TO SIGNIFY WHAT YOU IDENTIFIED WITH.”
FROM AN EARLY AGE, HE INHERENTLY KNEW THAT PEOPLE’S FOOTWEAR WAS A REFLECTION OF THEIR PERSONALITY OR INTERESTS, AND OVER TIME CAME TO REALISE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL REFERENCES ATTACHED TO CERTAIN SHOES.
“PRADA AMERICA’S CUP TRAINERS WERE THE DRUG DEALER’S CHOICE. CLARK’S WALLABEES FOR YARDIES. IF YOU LISTENED TO GRIME MUSIC YOU HAD A PAIR OF NIKE AIR MAX ON, OR DR. MARTENS IF YOU LISTENED TO PUNK. IF YOU WERE FROM THAT TRIBE, YOU WERE ALWAYS GOING TO WEAR THEM.”
TIM’S EARLY ENCHANTMENT WITH TRAINERS EVENTUALLY LED HIM TO STUDY FOOTWEAR DESIGN AT THE LONDON COLLEGE OF FASHION, WORK IN PROMINENT SNEAKER STORES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE GLOBE, AND MOST RECENTLY, TO OUR COBURG STUDIO WITH A VISION FOR TWO FIVE: THE CULMINATION OF 20-SOMETHING YEARS OF ADMIRATION, UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION OF WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY AN EVERYDAY TOOL, BUT MEANS SO MUCH MORE.
TIM HANDLES OUR MANUFACTURING END-TO-END, BUT WHEN HE’S NOT IN THE STUDIO MAKING, YOU CAN CATCH HIM AT [ENTER MARKETS], OR BY APPOINTMENT AT OUR EAST BRUNSWICK STOCKIST, OTHER GOODS.