Brian Procell still recalls the first time he laid eyes upon a pair of Mephisto sneakers. It was a time long before the Lower East Side vintage shop that bears his name — a cultural bastion that’s served everyone from Frank Ocean to Rihanna — opened its doors, and even further before his visionary take on sourcing, curation and consulting led the next generation of vintage dealers to refer to the ever-modest Procell using flattering titles like “the Godfather.”
Back when Procell first discovered Mephisto, he was a teenager growing up in Elizabeth, New Jersey, window-shopping for Polo Ralph Lauren, the brand that first piqued his sartorial inclinations, in the area’s malls. “Ralph Lauren would have dedicated sections in most mall anchor stores, so I’d go in and admire both the garments and how they were showcased,” he says. “Usually, close by, there would be footwear that was parallel to the brand, either aspirational, elegant or both, and that’s where I first saw a pair of Mephisto sneakers.”
There’s something to be said for discovering a product in a primarily organic sense, independent of marketing or cultural influence. Suppose you feel like you stumbled across the product, whatever it may be, on your terms and IRL. In that case, there’s often an unbreakable bond established — and, as Mephisto, a French brand without eyes on a “lifestyle” consumer, wasn’t marketed in the same way that Nike or Timberland were to the young Procell, he describes the moment he first saw the shoe as a “total discovery experience,” likening them to the ultimate version of ’90s skate shoes like the Hook-Ups Special Police or the Vans Skate Cab 4.
Fast-forward almost two decades, and Procell, who had by then scored more than a few pairs of Mephisto sneakers during his frequent thrifting excursions, was running his eponymous shop, working on the design team at Supreme and had become known among his co-workers as the “guy who was always wearing Mephisto.” A fortuitous seating arrangement near Supreme’s head footwear designer, who happened to know the Mephisto CEO, got Procell in touch with the brand, and the talk of a collaboration began.
The road to the final design was long and winding. Samples for a first collaborative effort were made at the tail end of the 2010s, but never went to production due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, delay is not denial for a collaboration that’s a lifetime in the making, and the Procell x Mephisto Match is set to officially touch down by the end of 2024. Procell and Jessica Gonsalves, his partner in business and life, are no strangers to footwear collaborations — they worked with Nike on a muslin-covered Air Force 1 Low in 2019, and Gonsalves created a pearly GEL-Nimbus 9 as part of ASICS and Angelo Baque‘s “ASICS Collective” initiative — this Mephisto just might be their most personal yet. “The brand’s been incorporated into my life for over two decades,” Procell says.
Ahead of the Procell x Mephisto Match’s release, the famously detail-oriented vintage maven sat down to discuss its materials, colorway and the inspiration behind its unique details. “This shoe is an investment in your quality of life,” he said. “Once you set foot in it, you’ll appreciate it and have it for the rest of your life.”
Colorway
Inspiration, both classic and contemporary, collides on the shoe’s rich green palette. Similar hues could often be seen on the Ralph Lauren garments that a young Procell was so inspired by, and the shoe’s shades are also a salute to the “British Racing Green” tone that frequently coats high-end automobiles from UK entities like Jaguar and Land Rover. Though those references served as a jumping-off point for the design, they were applied in a practical sense. Procell’s MO with the palette was to create something that could be worn with the “trad” or prep aesthetic that’s become pervasive in New York City over the past few years, and, color-wise that would fulfill the concept of a shoe to compliment an “elevated uniform,” offering more liveliness than a standard earth or neutral tone without discarding any elegance.
Materials
Most of Mephisto’s in-line Match colorways offer an upper that’s made entirely of a single material, be it suede or leather. However, the Procell x Mephisto Match combines the highest caliber that Mephisto offers of both materials, making for a tonal contrast that falls in line with its “elevated uniform” aesthetic. The suede is Mephisto’s signature Velsport blend, while the leather accents are crafted of ultra-supple Oregon leather. All pairs were made in France, and assembled entirely by hand.
Special Details
The shoe’s main details are provided by a duo of IYKYK-style hits, one on the right shoe’s window box and the other on both shoes’ tongues. The right shoe’s window box replaces its standard Mephisto branding with a “New York” hit, a detail that pays homage to Procell’s New York City roots and sensibilities, as well as a salute to the “ripple effect” that New York City’s cultural happenings have on the rest of he world. The left shoe’s window box remains unaltered as both a show of respect to — and a celebration of collaboration with — Mephisto. The tongue’s Intarsia woven label continues that celebration of shared values, placing a Procell text hit above Mephisto’s stylized M logo.
The Procell x Mephisto Match is limited to 100 pairs and will release on December 12, exclusively at the Procell store in New York City (5 Delancey St, 10002). It’s priced at $425 USD.
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