LIMITED EDITIONS 01
WOLFF. x Riudavets
In 2017 I had the pleasure to meet Amalio, the 3rd generation owner of Riudavets, a brand born in Minorquines. Sustainable by nature before we spoke of sustainability, the Avarcas shoes are made since 1929 with recycled tire soles and helped the field workers to bear the hot grounds of the island. They are made with thick layers of leather making them strong and everlasting. They are the perfect sandals to be in and out for the whole summer in a laid back and elegant Mediterranean look.
Discover through the capsule WOLFF. X Riudavets 3 unisex styles made of the Riudavets recycled type sole, with an upper in vegetable tanned leather stitched by hand with the unique technique invented by the menorcan artisans and Amalio’s grand father Bep.
We will tell you all about this incredible life story and about the making of this historic upcycled shoe. We thought them to be cool, timeless and robust so they can take you through many summers and just get better as they grow old.
MEET Riudavets
In the Riudavets family, the love of shoes started in 1929.
Joseph, called Bep, born in 1899, tired of the hard field labor conditions, decided in the early 1920s to try his luck in the city. He immediately found a job at a shoemaker where he learnt all the skills of the traditional and regional sandal making. He ended up opening his own atelier making custom sandals and inventing his own making technique with his two sons, Antonio and Jose.
In 1965, Antonio and Jose who took the business over, had an intuition about the potential of these rough sandals called the Avarcas. At the time, they were produced only by hand and in small series.
To increase the production, they created production lines in Menorca and in the country, repeating each technique and steps passed on by their father.
Until the end of his life Jose controlled each and every pair produced, making sure the fabrication was in core with its roots.
In the 1980s, the Riudavets avarcas reached other shores and were sold in Majorque, Ibiza, Formentera, Catalogna and in Valencia. Some modifications were brought to the sandals by Jose to make them more comfortable and improve the fit and please this new clientele.
Today, the grandson of “Bep” is looking after the family business.
Opening the brand’s e-shop a few years back, he was pleasantly surprised to receive orders from the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and even France ! Riudavets although continually spreading, is still very present on the Balearic islands and is part of the local history and core identity. You will spot them on all beaches and streets of the islands summer after summer.