Veja

Reinventing the sneaker

The idea behind a pair of VEJA: standing up with one foot in design and the other in social responsibility.

We decided to make sneakers, because this product is a symbol for our generation and our era. It's also a product that crystallizes the major issues of globalization through its production, dissemination, and usage. 

Refusing to choose between design and social responsibility

VEJA is a maverick. The creation of VEJA, in 2005, happened during the Internet bubble: a lot of our friends were working either for start-ups or Internet-related businesses. This collective infatuation with the virtual pushed us in the opposite direction, towards the reinvention of a "brick & mortar" product.

Making shoes differently was us saying that everything had to be redone from scratch, that nothing was to be taken for granted. And it started happening: food, cars, consumer products in general are changing their production methods.