Hugs & Co.

Driving Loafers, Designed in London, Made in Portugal. With Soles, Rather Cleverly, From Old Tyres.

Hugs & Co. is the work of London-based brothers Benjie and Hugo Davis — set up in 2012 on a fairly simple grievance: that one couldn't, at the time, buy a properly handsome driving loafer at any reasonable price. The options, as they discovered, were either disappointing high-street efforts or gloriously expensive Italian houses one could only justify wearing on truly special occasions. So Benjie and Hugo (architects, art people, designers, business types) did the obvious thing and started making their own. Designed in London, made by hand in Portugal by skilled artisan factories, using carefully selected European leathers from suppliers with proper environmental accreditations. Available, since they cracked it, at Harvey Nichols.

The signature piece is the Tyre Sole Penny Driving Loafer — and the name is rather literal. The sole is made from upcycled car tyres, laminated with Italian leather, which is the slightly unhinged but actually rather brilliant solution to the sustainability problem in luxury footwear. The repurposing requires a tenth of the energy needed to manufacture new soles, which means each pair leaves a properly small carbon shadow — and rescues a small piece of rubber that would otherwise have been burned or buried. Sustainability, in other words, hidden in plain sight underneath the foot.

For more pieces from independent makers, browse our Men's Clothing and Women's Fashion collections. Discover home-grown design through our British Makers selection, find brands transforming waste materials in our Upcycled Makers directory, explore makers chosen for how they produce via Sustainable Brands, or find considered presents in our Gifts for Him edit.