A collaboration between 55DSL, Birkenstock, Arkitip and Aaron De La Cruz

Teaming up with legendary sandal makers Birkenstock, Los Angeles based art publisher Arkitip and San Francisco based artist Aaron De La Cruz, we bring you the 55DSL x Birkenstock Monterey Sandal.It is both an unexpected, yet completely organic partnership. Birkenstock reflect the roots and quality that 55DSL prides itself in, whilst Arkitip’s support of emerging artists resonates with our commitment to helping upcoming talents have a loudspeaker for their art. The final piece of the puzzle has been figuring out how to ensure each pair of sandals is genuinely infused with De La Cruz’s signature artwork – we have achieved this by inviting him to hand paint a large scale mural at our HQ in Breganze, Italy. In January 2014, Aaron will make the trip from the streets of San Francisco to the hills of northern Italy, and line up the sandals underneath the mural before commencing work. Aaron plans to utilize excess paint and intentionally directed flecks from his brush to adorn each sandal with organic white patterns – ensuring that each pair produced has its own distinct personality. 55DSL x Birkenstock Monterey Sandal will be accompanied by a sweat and a T-shirt featuring black-on-black patterns mirroring the mural’s design. Credits: Creative Director: Andrea Rosso Media Partner: ARKITIP Artist: Aaron De La Cruz