"For the first 280 years of our existence, we didn't make sneakers and that was a wonderful time. We didn’t chase from one trend to the next, instead we had a lasting classic collection. At least... you’d think. In the days of my father, grandfather and the six generations before them, there were endless discussions about making minimal adjustments to a classic shoe. And whenever they moved that little stitching by 4 millimetres, they’d be met with a storm of criticism. Even though the changes to shoes were much smaller then, the magnifying glass looming over them was much bigger. I remembered this when we were working on this classic. After much thought and discussion, we made the sole a few millimetres thicker than normal and chose a lightweight EVA material. This is exactly the type of modification that my father and his predecessors would have been criticised for. Should you, in keeping with this tradition, get annoyed about this slightly thicker sole, please remember that there’s always been criticism in the face of change. A classic that doesn’t evolve becomes old-fashioned. This shoe, on the other hand, with its few extra millimetres, is a contemporary classic."