Barefoot Shoes are Beating the Ugly Allegations
OHNE Project proves that barefoot shoes are cool, actually
New Spanish barefoot shoe brand OHNE Project shared this post on their Instagram last December. It’s a top-down, on-feet shot of a person wearing a Reebok Club C 85 on their left foot and OHNE Project’s PROJECT 080 on their right foot.
Since those kinds of pictures do a great job of showing how silly and pointy traditional shoes are and I’m always looking to spread barefoot shoe propaganda, I shared the post on my story. After seeing my story, some of my oomfs followed OHNE Project, and that’s how I know it's not just my barefoot shoe brain rot that’s making me think the PROJECT 080s are cool. These shoes look good, like, normalize-barefoot-shoes good.
They just got a restock in some of the original colorways and released in some new colorways, including black and models with colored, vegan suede (plant-based, not plastic!) toe caps and heel counters.
OHNE Project says they’re transition barefoot shoes, meaning they’re more cushioned than standard barefoot shoes. They come with two insoles, a 5mm one and a 3mm one, so you can choose your cushion level. You could even stack them to get 8mm of insole, though you might run into some volume issues depending on how much volume the PROJECT 080s have.
I’m a fan of OHNE Project because they didn’t just make a transition shoe by upping the cushion. The PROJECT 080s are also a transition shoe in the sense that people won’t have to make a big aesthetic transition to try barefoot shoes. Both are important in getting people to make the switch, and I’d argue that the aesthetics factor is the most important.
I’ve found that people are hesitant about barefoot shoes for two main reasons: (1) they want cushioned and supportive shoes, and (2) they think barefoot shoes are ugly. People are already ok with wearing low-cushion, low-support shoes. They wear dress shoes and sandals even if they’re uncomfortable because they look good.
Barefoot shoes are low-cushion, low-support shoes that are comfortable because of their wide toe box, flexibility, and zero-drop soles. When they look good too, there are no trade-offs or compromises. That’s what the PROJECT 080s offer and that’s why I’m so excited about them.
Unfortunately, barefoot shoes are not beating the “too expensive” allegations. These will run you 176 United States dollars. The aforementioned Reeboks in a comparable vintage white colorway are $90.
But OHNE Project isn’t Reebok. They’re a tiny company that started on Kickstarter. Their first batch of shoes just shipped last November, and they already have some of the best-looking barefoot shoes out. On top of that, they’re well-constructed with great materials.
If you have the money, why not support a small business making barefoot shoes that everyone can get behind? They’re now available for pre-order at ohneproject.com.