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Thread: Got me some Feiyue's

  1. #16
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    We've been so ahead of this...freakin trendsetters!

    How China’s Feiyue sneakers, shoes of Shaolin monks, are making a comeback
    Traditionally the go-to footwear of Shaolin monks, Chinese Feiyue sneakers are seeing a resurgence thanks to Gen Z’s love of retro heritage brands
    New stores have opened in Beijing as the Chinese brand looks to differentiate itself from separate Feiyue brands in France, the US and elsewhere
    Jessica Rapp
    Published: 11:15am, 23 Jun, 2019


    A Shaolin kung fu student wearing Feiyue shoes. The sneakers are making a comeback in China as younger consumers seek out ‘Made in China’ heritage brands. Photo: Alamy
    Chinese sneaker brand Feiyue started out providing the go-to footwear for Shaolin monks; the shoes were lightweight, supportive and cheap.

    Fast forward nearly 70 years and the martial art accessory has become a fashionable must-have – and the cause of multiple copyright disagreements. For the past year and a half, Beijing resident AJ Donnelly and his business partner Nic Doering have been working with the Shanghai-based brand to bring it back to its humble roots.
    Donnelly’s story starts like that of many who encounter Feiyue in Beijing: he stumbled upon the shoes when he started his martial arts training at the Shaolin Temple in Henan province in 2015.
    The shoes, which were also a staple of the martial arts performers at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, are made using recycled rubber from the Shanghai Da Fu Rubber tire factory. Their Chinese name means “to leap” or “to fly over”, though its slogan “flying forward” will be more familiar to people in the West.
    In 2016, Donnelly and Doering launched a company called Cultural Keys to help foreign students in China learn about traditional Chinese culture. It included martial arts programmes conducted in partnership with the Shaolin Temple and Feiyue shoes were part of the students’ training outfits. It soon became clear, however, that they would need a greater supply.
    “All of the students who were with us were saying, ‘Wow, these shoes are so cool, they’re so hip, where can we get more?’” Donnelly says.
    After discovering that few sports apparel stores in Beijing actually sold Feiyues, Donnelly contacted Da Fu to determine whether they could resell the footwear in their cultural centres in Beijing.


    Shaolin Monks wearing Feiyue shoes demonstrating their skills to tourists outside their training temple. Photo: Shutterstock

    “They basically said the same thing that the Shaolin Temple told us: they said, ‘We’d love to do this *[as] we don’t have easy access to orders from an international market, so if you could help us by stocking our shoes … we’d love to work with you,’” Donnelly says.
    From there, Donnelly says he and his team opened a shop in Beijing called the CK Culture Boutique (now located in the Songzhuang Art District in Beijing’s Tongzhou district) where they sell the shoes, along with Chinese calligraphy, kung fu clothes and other cultural products.
    Most of Donnelly’s customers are tourists who find the shop through TripAdvisor or Google. But the Feiyue shoe has also been making a comeback in the Chinese market thanks to a surge in interest in all things retro, especially among Gen Z consumers.
    The company, buoyed by this interest in “Made in China” heritage brands, has expanded its range of the shoes, as well as its consumer engagement strategy.


    Modern Feiyue sneakers.

    “I’ve noticed wherever I go I see more and more young Chinese people wearing them on the subway, and just going down the streets,” Donnelly says. “But I see older people as well who just pop into the shop when they’re walking past who say, ‘Oh my gosh, I was wearing these when I was 10 years old and it’s amazing to see them here now.’ It’s great to hear both sides of that.”
    The increasing popularity of Feiyues can sometimes pose challenges for Donnelly’s boutique. Da Fu makes around 150 styles of the shoes, but change out styles yearly depending on Chinese tastes.


    Feiyue sneakers on display at the CK Culture Boutique in Beijing.

    “The Chinese consumer likes very bright and colourful styles, even rainbow-coloured shoes, whereas we see the most popular ones [among Western shoppers] are the most basic … very simple. Grey mid tops with a black line going through them are a number-one bestseller for us, but they’re not popular with the Chinese shopper. So Feiyue will stop making them after a year.”
    Sometimes the range of colourful styles on offer can be confusing for those unfamiliar with Feiyue’s complicated brand story.
    In 2006, a French marketing and events manager living in Shanghai had the idea to create a hip, stylish culture around the shoe. He bought the brand registration from a manufacturer in China and trademarked the name to sell them in France. Since then, not only has the French brand given Feiyues an updated, fresh look, it has attracted Western celebrities like Orlando Bloom and Poppy Delevingne, who once told W Magazine that she “lived in” the trainers.


    CK Culture Boutique in Beijing’s Tongzhou district.

    The Feiyue name has also been trademarked in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan – all separate entities from Shanghai Da Fu Rubber and its subsidiary Double Coin, which took over manufacturing the shoes in 1979.
    We serve a very specific group of customers. And when people come to us, whether it’s for classes or martial arts programmes, or for the shoes themselves, we always try and give as much of the story that we have
    AJ Donnelly
    There is also a US version of the sneaker company, headed by a Florida-based footwear firm called BBC International, which bought out the French brand in late 2014, according to new magazine Footwear News. In China, countless copies of both the Chinese and French versions of the Feiyue shoe are also available as the Chinese market still grapples with the protection of intellectual property rights.
    For the moment, the Chinese Feiyue is carving out its own niche and recent years have seen the introduction of branded stores in Beijing.


    Feiyue shoes drying outside the Shaolin Kung Fu school dormitory in Dengfeng city in Henan province. Photo: Alamy

    Donnelly believes his company is helping ground the flying footwear brand.
    “We serve a very specific group of customers,” Donnelly says, noting that his shop has one additional value for foreign travellers that they won’t find at Feiyue’s branded shops: its collection is available in extended sizes, up to a size 47. “And when people come to us, whether it’s for classes or martial arts programmes, or for the shoes themselves, we always try and give as much of the story that we have from our point of view.
    “We’re not a tour company; we don’t talk about modern China and these kind of things. We always take everything back to its roots.”

    This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: How a kung fu favourite gained traction


    You know where to get your FEIYUES...MartialArtSmart.com.



    THREADS
    Tiger Claw brand Feiyue
    Att Gene - FeiYue shoes
    Got me some Feiyue's
    Made in China
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #17
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    Fe Lo 1920 “Chinese New Year”

    FE LO 1920 | CNY24
    BLACK RED GOLD



    $35.00

    Description

    Fe Lo 1920 CNY 2024: The Fe Lo 1920 “Chinese New Year” shoe pays tribute to the annual Chinese Lunar New Year. 2024 marks the year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac cycle, symbolizing hard work, growth, and prosperity. Featuring gold metallic dragon detailing, a satin branded tongue label and custom dragon scale printed lining, this design pays tribute to new beginnings and honors our brand heritage.

    1920 shoes are packaged in an exclusive White Feiyue Tote bag. This bag is constructed in a non-woven material and is perfectly sized to carry your daily essentials. Our little gift to you.

    Premium Cotton Canvas Upper
    Nylon Durable Shoelace
    Branded Satin Tongue Label
    Gold Metallic Dragon Detailing
    Custom Dragon Scale Print Lining
    Authentic Plimsoll Design
    Maximum Traction Sole Tread
    Packaged with an exclusive white reusable Feiyue branded tote bag

    Got-me-some-Feiyue-s
    2024-Year-of-the-Dragon
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #18
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    Skippies Brooklyn Shoes

    Skippies Brooklyn Shoes

    NYC's affordable shoe, $19.99 with free shipping!





    Our Story

    TLDR “Liu claims the French company took advantage of the Chinese at a time when China was still grappling with capitalism and transitioning from all factories being state-owned assets to devolving some rights to individual businesses." You can’t buy actual Dafu Rubber 501 Feiyue because of this. So we contacted Mr. Liu and jointly created a special run of the original Dafu Rubber 501s with Brooklyn as the logo.

    Skippies is a story of 3 friends (Alex, Victor, and Qingqiao) and a quest for clothes with a high ROI (Return on Investment). Shoes wear out fast, you can make shoes heavy with hard rubber, and they will last longer, but your feet will suffer. Minimalist shoes that are light with really flexible soles are a joy to wear and run in. And with less material, they should be cheaper, but they aren't. Why? Because companies assume that with a niche product they can apply Customer Price Perception to get you to pay more for the "perception" of quality. Dont be so predictable.

    One day at the office, I saw Norman wearing minimalist-looking canvas shoes he had bought in Taiwan. Their brand was Feiyue. Investigating the story and you come across this amazing tidbit “Liu claims the French company took advantage of the Chinese at a time when China was still grappling with capitalism and transitioning from all factories being state-owned assets to devolving some rights to individual businesses."



    After a year of ordering shoes from Aliexpress and trying the Top One, red dot, and the original Dafu Rubber green triangle shoes, we knew we had found the perfect shoes. Super light. Very flexible sole. So we contacted Mr. Liu on WeChat from Dafu Rubber and found a friend. We registered Skippies Industries LLC and Trademark. We learned that International LLC of Florida registered the name Feiyue for footwear. So we changed the name. We are New Yorkers, so for our first run of shoes, we picked our favorite borough for a Big Night Out, Brooklyn.

    Technical Details
    Material: Sole and wrap around is vulcanized rubber. Hardness level (we are currently measuring).
    The uppers are made of: Cotton, woven in canvas.
    The laces are: Cotton.
    Additional Features: There is a slim foam insert (we are considering a version with this removed for an even more minimalist shoe).

    FAQ
    How long do they last?

    3 months in good condition and 6 months in serviceable but worn condition if used every day for exercise and worn all day.
    How can I clean them?

    Best Method: Dunk the shoes in a bucket of soapy water and scrub. Set them to dry in front of a fan on high blowing until dry.
    Washing Machine: You can put them in the washing machine; however, the noise is annoying! And it beats up the shoes.
    Oxiclean or other stain removers work great.
    How long is shipping?

    We are experimenting with shipping methods, but it's available worldwide with 4-14 day shipping in most cases.
    Why don’t they arrive with the shoes already laced up?

    It's fun to lace your own shoes, right?
    How much do they cost?

    cost breakdown they cost $4 to make, 2$ to pack, $9 to ship to USA.
    Not Chinese knock offs of a Western brand - Western knock offs of a Chinese brand.
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #19
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    gym shoes

    The $35 “Kung Fu Shoe” We Keep Seeing at the Gym
    Do you need to add a pair of Feiyues to your rotation?
    BY TANNER GARRITY
    January 28, 2024 8:40 am

    An international bestseller...but still one of the most underrated training shoes out there.
    Photo credit should read GOU YIGE/AFP via Getty Images

    There’s a line at the end of The Shawshank Redemption that is pretty integral to Andy Dufresne’s escape from prison. He’s nicked the warden’s mirror-polished dress shoes, hoping to look the part when he heads to the bank on the outside. None of the prison guards notice as Andy stomps right past them, wearing the sleek new pair. Morgan Freeman intones as narrator: “I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a man’s shoes?”

    With all due respect to one of the better characters in film history: literally all the time. I always look at another man’s shoes. At work or on the subway, sure, but especially while exercising. As a wellness writer who’s plugged in to such things, I love to see what sneakers athletes are wearing to the track, basketball court, soccer pitch or gym. During my marathon last fall, I distracted myself on the punishing bridges by trying to pick out running shoes from the pack in front of me.

    Lately, I keep noticing a specific shoe on my local weight room floor: the Feiyue Fe Lo 1920 Canvas Sneaker. Once a week I’ll spot the sneaker (usually in white) while I should probably be focusing on the form of my bent-over rows. Why is the shoe suddenly so popular? Where does it even come from? I decided to find out.

    Feiyue’s Kung Fu Origins

    Feiyue’s history is somewhat murky: its Shanghai parent corporation, Da Fu Rubber Company, started producing the shoe in the 1950s, choosing the name “feiyue,” which means “to leap.” In 1958, Mao Zedong debuted a new five-year plan for Communist China, called the Great Leap Forward. It’s hard to imagine that the shoe’s name wasn’t a nod to the state.

    That said, the shoe was also the latest in a local lineage of canvas low-tops, favored for decades by Shaolin warrior monks and kung fu trainees. Rubber and canvas were a dream duo at the time. The former was plentiful (Chinese tire companies had it in excess) and the latter was lightweight and comfortable, surprisingly suitable for performance. American athletes were wearing rubber-canvas sneaks by the second half of the 20th century, too. See: Wilt in Chucks.

    Feiyue retained its popularity for a while — there are some awesome images out there of monks wearing the kicks — and added some key touches along the way (like its now iconic red and blue chevrons), leading to millions of yearly sales in the 1980s. By the end of the century, though, with new competition from international brands, Feiyue’s presence in China faded away.

    It took Western interest for Feiyue to get going again. A Frenchman named Patrice Bastian revived the brand for European customers (separately from Da Fu Rubber) in the mid-aughts, eventually establishing an American presence, too. The “Feiyue Shoe Collection” featured a more robust sole, for the sort of general wear that won casual fans like Orlando Bloom. (Seen here sporting Feiyues while crushing Dostoevsky. The peak male form.)

    Why People Love Them

    Unsurprisingly, Shanghai wasn’t particularly excited that a Franco-American team bargain-binned a once proud Chinese brand. Feiyue production was back up again in earnest in China by the 2010s. You used to be able to tell the difference between a Western Feiyue and a Chinese Feiyue by the mark on the sole (a red circle for the Western, a green triangle for the Chinese), but now China’s started slapping a red circle onto their soles as well.

    Confused? It gets even more confusing if you dive into the labyrinth of international copyright lawsuits that have dogged this low-top sneaker for decades now. But your time is too precious to be spent on that.

    All you need to know is that this shoe is a survivor. It’s lasted this long — and been produced across all sorts of seas — because it’s good at its singular job: helping people train. That training could be martial arts, or parkour, or in my case, the much less exciting weightlifting. People love the shoe because its core construction is still all you really need.

    Feiyue blends a grippy, wide-set base, with padded insoles and a reinforced toe cap. That’s pretty much it. Lifters favor them because it allows your toes to spread out and “grip” the ground. (Remember, you don’t want to be strength-training in running shoes! That’s like squatting on a bedroom pillow.) Plus, the canvas is super flexible, accommodating twists and turns as they arrive. Probably the best thing about Feiyues, though? They’re just $35.
    At $35 are they the real Feiyues?
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  5. #20
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    Velho Movement Shoes

    Velho Movement Shoes

    Original

    $33.00
    VELHO Movement Shoe
    Unisex



    Lightweight and flexible rubber sole design gives excellent grip

    Shoes for Movement, Capoeira, Martial arts, and Parkour practices

    Rugged canvas: Wear-resistant and Air permeability

    “Low tech shoes, high tech feet” – Ido Portal
    First Skippies Brooklyn Shoes, now these...
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

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