T.U.K. Shoes creates unique footwear inspired by individuals with an eclectic taste. Founded 25 years ago by owner Ian White in sunny Sand Diego CA in 1991, T.U.K. Shoes was born from an affiliation with unique footwear. Originally from Northampton England, White comes from a family who has been manufacturing English footwear since the 1890s, and brought with him to the shores of California the distinctly British sensibilities of the family business, and discovered tremendous inspiration in the blossoming So-Cal punk rock scene.
The result: a truly one-of-a-kind brand of footwear that channels punk roots across continents. The brand opened its first retail store in 1991, selling its own T.U.K. shoes in-house. Not surprisingly demand quickly took off and soon T.U.K. was offering their products world wide. T.U.K. designs and creates everything from women's high heels to creepers, platform wedge boots to ankle strap sandals, sneakers to flats. And of course boots!
The brand's (and our favourite) most popular design is, without a doubt, the creeper. A brief history of the creeper: first developed during World War 1, the thick sole was made from crepe rubber and helped soldiers in the North African desert traverse hot and sandy terrain. As is frequently the case, fashion followed the functional developments of the creeper. The thick-soled boots worn by returning soldiers quickly caught on in England, and the decades that followed gave way to a kaleidoscopic cultural underground with subcultures sparking and growing and eventually fizzling out. The Mod culture of the 1960s, however, remained thriving.
Now more than ever, alternative and "outsider" styles and counter cultures wield significant style influence around the globe, and with its foundations thoroughly rooted in a heady mix of English function and West Coast rebellious punk way of life, T.U.K. footwear manages to perfectly embody the culture clash of the last decades. Browse the T.U.K. collection today at Beserk! Cute kitties, foxes, skulls, straps and stripes!
