Blogger Joshua Katcher, Novacas Launch Vegan Men’s Shoes

With its rugged, slicked-back aesthetic and stoic self-assuredness, the Novacas for Brave GentleMan shoe collection underscores one indubitable fact: It’s never been manlier to be vegan. A collaboration between blogger Joshua Katcher of The Discerning Brute and the Portugal-based vegan footwear label, the faux-leather boots and oxfords are exclusive to Brave GentleMan, Katcher’s newly launched online store.

BRAVE AND GENTLE

Draw a veil on the archetype of the preening metrosexual in khakis. Testosterone, as we say in fashion, is having a moment. “I was inspired by classic men’s shoes that have stood the test of time and are stylistically versatile,” Katcher tells Ecouterre. “The names of the shoes, ‘Worker,’ ‘Defender,’ and ‘Mastermind,’ call upon traditional roles that men take pride in, and that also inspire men to embrace sustainability and guardianship as very masculine, brave, and necessary work that needs to be done.

But while most cultural notions of masculinity are based in violence and conquest, the new breed of brawny preaches compassion over barbarism. “Leather as a textile, even before the tanning process, is associated with one of the most environmentally devastating industries on the planet: livestock production,” says Katcher. “The UN has again and again called out this industry for being a major contributor to the worst environmental problems, especially climate change.”
With sustainably made alternatives that are just as robust as animal hide, Katcher wants to flex vegan leather’s potential.