Another niche piece of sportswear, although these 1970s handmade Valsport Olimpia trainers might be familiar if you grew up in Italy.
There are different versions and finishes for these, but the shoe profile is much the same. This is a classic sports shoe from the 1970s that still looks good today.
Not that the company dates from the ‘70s. The heritage goes back much further than that. Valsport dates back to 1920 – and there is a premium 1920 model of this style to commemorate that date, as you can see above and below.
The reputation grew to the point of being a go-to brand in Italian sport into the 1960s and 1970s – the Italian national football team and Juventus, for example, had their footwear supplied by Valsport.
Like other similar companies (Mates in Spain, for example), the big brands eventually forced the smaller labels away from the big contracts, and these days, Valsport focuses more on ploughing its own furrow as an artisan sportswear maker. If you want to stand out from the crowd with some old-school trainers handmade in Italy, then this is a label to check out.
The Valsport Olimpia, in its plainest form, works best for me. This is the Nappa Bianco, and it works best for its simplicity. The nappa leather upper, the stripe (or boomerang) and heel that either blend in or stand out (depending on the model you go for), the honey-coloured rubber box sole, and a cotton lining and laces—that’s pretty much it. But like most sports shoes, less really is more.
Handmade shoes never come cheap, and this pair sells for €249. Check out all the variations at the Valsport website.
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