ADIEU
For Benjamin Caron and Isabelle Guédon, who met in their teens on the banks of a French seaside port town called Les Sables d’Olonne, a company like Adieu was writing on the wall. Both share a sensibility in designing, often opting to streamline classic silhouettes with a flair for counter cultural expressions of the early 1980s. Creepers are central to Adieu’s offering, affording them a punchy and polished air, but the feeling they evoke is present in an expansive range of oxfords, loafers, sneakers and boots. Styles are offered on two different soles, two-tone crepe and a substantial rubber lug, and are crafted from full grain leather and suede. Every shoe is produced in the same factory in Portugal, yielding collections that are of exceptionally high quality and achieve a bulbous look akin to the aerodynamics of a Porsche. Caron has designed shoes since the 1990s, devoting a significant portion of his efforts to perfecting what is now Adieu’s signature style. Isabelle worked in fashion during the decade prior to starting the company, maintaining posts at Christian Lacroix, Guy Laroche, Emanuelle Ungaro and Yves Saint Laurent. Their work together is in a class of its own — Adieu shoes are comfortable, durable, and sharply redefine what proper footwear can embody.
