This is an excerpt from a post published on the Vancouver Sun website on November 8, 2019.

John Fluevog’s business is one built more upon careful intuition than careful planning.

“I built the business on feeling. One hundred per cent,” the Canadian footwear designer says with a soft smile. “Other than the fact that I thought that the brand was worthy of being more global — I always did think that — I’ve never had immediate plans. I’ve always thought that, if I have these really hard-and-fast plans, not getting there will make me depressed. And, I don’t like that feeling. So, it’s just been really organic. Everything has just sort of happened.”

The approach appears to have worked.

For nearly 50 years Fluevog has been churning out unique footwear designs that don’t adhere to normal fashion trends or style moments.

“I’m not chasing current fashion — that would be so exhausting to do that, ugh — and not only that, it’s kind of like catching soap in a bathtub. You can’t keep hold of it. Once you grab it, it’s gone,” he says.

Instead, the 71-year-old has become renowned for his recognizable footwear styles, which he describes as being, “interesting, soulful, original, unique, from the heart — human.”