Patagonia

Patagonia is one of those places you would want to visit just for its name alone. It sounds adventurous, grand and beautiful. Two million inhabitants spread over an area as large as Europe – this tickles to the imagination. For eight days, Floris went on a road trip through Patagonia and came back with some amazing photos that add an extra sparkle to our winter collection.

spring/summer ad

Floris: “Our campaign for this winter! The suede boot is one of our masterpieces for this season. A simple boot with a meticulous finish. The details of the padding along the stitching, the slightly hammered sole edge, the new and super soft calf leather, the slightly oiled suede: it all comes together perfectly. The finishing touch is a large yellow spot under the sole. The effect is created by a paint vial opening up in the sole mould. Should you decide to buy this boot, I recommend to take a closer look at it at home! Floris.”

Being on a glacier is like sitting on a giant's lap. Feeling grounded by being in touch with the grandeur of mother nature. And that’s when I’ll probably make a little Instagram video for the sponsor of our trip. Err, but wait… That would be me… Anyways, I’m sure you know what I mean...
Kids in Patagonia love making chalk drawings on the sidewalk... Make sure to clean up after yourselves, kids!?
We always carry a suitcase with brand new shoes around to take product shots. Hicham is the best shoe fluffer in the Netherlands.
When we arrived in the middle of the wilderness at the base camp near this glacier, we were offered a welcome drink with some rough ice cubes in it. Guess where that ice came from...
This is what someone with a fear of heights looks like on top of a 100 metre rock.
You can split people up into two groups: those who hope that this will go well, and those who hope that this will go wrong. Obviously, I'm standing there filming this, hoping that all goes well!
This is certainly my how I imagine the perfect road trip. A terrace, empty landscapes, a couple of laid-back people and a big mug of coffee.
The photos may suggest otherwise, but I don't spend a whole week in tight suits pondering the endless plains. More like: I spend an entire week switching outfits in the most impossible locations.
It’s a question of conscience... After how many hours of driving through these kinds of landscapes is it OK to watch a Netflix series on your phone? (I binged through two seasons of 'Gomorrah'. When we arrived in Buenos Aires after more than a week, I was 100% convinced that I was a super tough mafia boss).
In this mobile coffee bar we had some coffee along the way. I got my coffee in a... wait for it... edible cup! It was made from firm cake with chocolate icing. Best stuff ever.
This was epic. A cappuccino served in a cup made of cake and chocolate.
Looking for beautiful locations. We hiked all the way up this mountain, to the tree all the way up top, only to realise that it wasn’t going to work.
In Tilburg (the Netherlands) where I live, we’ve got some beautiful nature, but this is clearly something else.
Road trip!!! 1800 kilometres and yet, we’ve only seen a very small part of Patagonia.
Winter shoots are always FREEZING COLD. While the crew is wrapped up comfortably in their thermal clothing, they put me in a fancy suit and give me all kinds of instructions. And after the photos, they’ll shoot some video too!
Our longest trip ever to get to one location. From the fishing village Puerto Natales we sailed, drove and hiked for 9 hours before we arrived at a base camp in the middle of the wilderness.
I should have read the briefing more carefully back home... To get to the location we have to hike for an hour and a half through some swampy area. I insisted that I didn’t have wet feet. There are simply no better shoes than these.
Offroad hiking over so much moss and vegetation feels like walking on very thick and wet mattresses for an hour and a half.
Group shot! The best crew in the world . (A condor passed over our heads, that’s why we were a bit distracted...)
Our chef on the overnight boat near the glacier. At one point, we could hear very loud moaning sounds coming from the kitchen. The cook came out, visibly embarrassed, and apologised. His brother had made a playlist for him on his mp3 player and pranked him by putting porn sounds in between songs.
On your own two legs you get to see some really beautiful places.
My kryptonite... DOGS!

Video

Floris: “In addition to the pictures, we always shoot a crazy film. I do all the stunts myself! Crossing a hanging bridge in Nepal on horseback, travelling through Tanzania on a truck bed, shooting soup cans in Alaska, posing in front of reindeers in Lapland, walking along the crumbly edge of an active lava lake in Ethiopia or, as for this film, motor biking through a Tibetan monastery – I do it all without breaking a sweat. This guy is the Tom Cruise of the Dutch shoe business!”

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