It doesn’t take a telescope to see that Hender Scheme’s new sandal is as quality as it is cool — the yellow Vibram stamp says enough. This little yellow rubberized stamp of approval has become as much a draw as the shoe it’s attached to. 

It wasn’t always this way. Vibram’s famous vulcanized rubber tread — first introduced in mountaineering shoes in the 1930s — has proliferated into all manner of shapes and soles, unified by that little yellow logo that denotes peak sturdiness. Though there are some full-Vibram shoes, the footwear company’s tech is most often incorporated into other brands’ shoes to beef up the quality, becoming one key element in the total package of, say, a good hiking boot or trail runner. The Vibram sole was there, giving some literal support, but it was just a supporting character (or maybe more of an extra in a non-speaking role). 

The draw was never just Vibram but what was layered on top. How times change. Against all odds (and, arguably, good taste), Vibram’s FiveFingers toe shoe has been embraced by the fashion-forward crowd, becoming an increasingly common sight at Fashion Week each season. This is buoyed in part by even freakier takes on the anatomically toe-forward sole — see: Suicoke and LVMH Prize-nominated label MIDORIKAWA’s FiveFinger with painted nails — but also by a larger shift toward functional footwear (because, really, what’s more functional than a barefoot-style shoe that individually cradles each toe). 

Call the brand’s most famous silhouette “heinous-chic” if you will, but the case is clear: Vibram is as much a name as the brands that use its soles — and labels like Hender Scheme are taking note. 

The Tokyo label, known for its luxe leather collabs with the likes of The North Face and Frama, has been incorporating Vibram into its footwear for years, but its latest offering elevates the sole-maker to a co-starring role. For this iteration of Hender Scheme’s UFO sandal — first unveiled in its Spring/Summer 2018 collection, and short for “Unidentified Footwear Object” — the label teamed with Vibram for an entirely new take on its distinctive disc-like sole, following previous custom footbeds it has crafted for the likes of Suicoke. 

Though the shape is giving “I loved Disclosure Day,” the biggest draw isn’t what seems to be an otherworldly comfortable fit; it’s the prominence of a bright yellow Vibram logo on both the footbed and the undersole against an otherwise muted palette of black, brown, and off-white. 

Three years ago, when the two brands last collaborated on a custom footbed for Hender Scheme’s Caterpillar sandal, updating the brand’s classic Kamaboko sole to a juiced-up, grippier Kamaboko Vibram sole, the only way to tell what changed was by flipping the shoe over to spot the little yellow stamp. No need with the UFO: Vibram’s distinctive label isn’t just below but on the upper footbed, literally reflecting its rise to the top. 

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