ARMANI X SWIMS | FALL / WINTER 2012

Swims entered the market to make galoshes cool and worthy enough to slip over your shoes. Taking inspiration from the traditional weatherproof shoe, the Norwegian lifestyle brand have created slick and rain friendly footwear as a collaboration with Armani for Fall / Winter 2012.

The lifestyle brand includes loafers for men and women, accessories and outerwear. This season the brand has been modernised and redefined to keep up with the luxury aesthetic of the Armani brand. Each piece in the collection offers galoshes crafted with the utmost care using the best quality materials, maintaining anti-slip and waterproof properties, whilst also managing to be tear resistant.

The bespoke collection works on the ankle boot silhouette in black, featuring velvet and embellished trims – keeping expensive footwear dry whilst also maintaining style. Designer Mark McNairy developed the modern-day galosh to ensure that shoes were no longer ruined by unpredictable weather conditions, in a way that embodied practicality and wearability.

First seen during Armani’s Fall / Winter 2012 runway show, the once ‘not fashionable enough for luxury retailers’ galosh, proved that practicality and style can walk hand-in-hand.

Swims are now sold in more than 20 countries at prestigious retailers such as Harvey Nichols London, Le Bon Marche Paris and Isetan Tokyo.

- Charlotte Stamp