Florsheim X Esquivel features the first women’s collection from the venerable shoe brand

Hip Orange County shoemaker George Esquivel and Wisconsin-based Florsheim have joined forces for a holiday capsule collection of shoes that not only manages to perfectly meld the former’s flair for artisanal touches with the latter’s old-school dress-shoe silhouettes but also marks the 123-year-old Florsheim label’s first women’s collection.

The Florsheim X Esquivel collection, which launched the first week of November, serves up eight styles each for men and women that riff on cap-toe and long-wing styles — the latter a design in which the perforated wingtip detail runs the full length of the shoe — plucked from the heritage brand’s extensive archives and given a distinctly Esquivel spin.

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For the Record
Nov. 19, 12:12 p.m.: This article states that the Florsheim X Esquivel collaboration includes the first women’s footwear collection in Florsheim’s history. Florsheim briefly sold women’s shoes in the late 1960s.

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The result has one foot firmly planted in the past and one in the future all in the same pair of shoes. Color options range from traditional brown, camel and navy blue to eye-catching, holiday-festive hues including cobalt blue, forest green and a shade of burgundy that borders on plum. They come in a distinctive pebble-grain leather developed with Wickett & Craig (a Curwensville, Penn., tannery that dates to 1867) that hearkens back to Esquivel’s first vintage shoe purchase: a pair of Florsheim long-wings in brown pebble leather that he bought nearly a quarter-century ago.

Other details include perforations highlighted with bold hand-painting, leather soles stamped with the name of both brands and hand-punched toe medallions that reference the partnership by putting a stylized “F” on the right shoe and an “E” on the left.

The women’s offerings cover pretty much the same ground as the men’s but are distinguished by a higher heel, a slightly sleeker toe shape and designs that tend toward the more subtle by using fewer hand-painted accents and more contrast stitching.

Neither brand is a stranger to the merry-go-round of collaborative efforts. Florsheim was exposed to a new generation of customers through a multi-year partnership with the fashion-forward Duckie Brown label, and Esquivel, a particularly enthusiastic collaborator, has teamed up with the likes of L.A. designers Irene Neuwirth and Juan Carlos Obando and, most recently, Tommy Hilfiger.

The capsule collection ($595 to $850) is available online at www.florsheim.com with exclusive women’s styles available at Barneys New York.

adam.tschorn@latimescom