Have you ever copped something and just stood there in disbelief at how good it is? I had a full-on Wee-Bey-from-The Wire moment when I slipped my feet into a supple, buttery pair of borderline-orthopedic shoes from ECCO.Kollektive, a sub-line of the Danish label ECCO. I picked up these Clarks Wallabee-adjacent shoes, and they have been in my weekly rotation for nearly a year now. They were so good, I doubled back for the loafer version. My future 60-year-old self is already grateful.

Founded in 1963 in Bredebro, Denmark, ECCO has built its reputation on producing some of the softest leather in the game. But it wasn’t until 2022 that the brand launched ECCO.Kollektive (formerly At.Kollektive), a platform that teams up with designers like Peter Do, Kiko Kostadinov, Bianca Saunders, and New York design duo Eckhaus Latta to reinterpret pieces from the archive. This promptly sent me down a rabbit hole exploring the broader Grandpa-core movement happening in footwear.

The Joke silhouette is simple and unfussy—the antithesis of trend-chasing chaos. An ECCO.Kollektive spokesperson explained that one of the design principles of the brand is to make shoes centered around movement and not just image. And you can feel that intention almost immediately.

I own several loafers and leather lace-ups, but the leather on these is noticeably different. ECCO has always been family-run and has owned its own tanneries since launching its first product. The outcome? A soft, unlined, pebbled full-grain leather that feels broken-in straight out of the box. The brand can develop its own materials, refine comfort and durability, and ensure quality across products.