These models continue to be made with Oro-iginal leather. Red Wing’s workboot line now has style numbers 1087 -basically the same models as the originals, but with black eyelets and a Red Wing Shoes logo embossed on the side. In tandem with the arrival of Oro Legacy, Red Wing made some clearer distinctions between the moc toe boots in the main work line and their Heritage cousins.

(Years later, Red Wing Heritage would release a limited-edition leather called Gold Russet Sequoia, named in tribute to Oro Russet’s original tannage and designed to imitate the lighter golden hues of the original leather. Oro Russet in the original Irish Setter era tended to have a lighter complexion, though some hides came out darker and more orange than others, and its significant oil content meant that it tended to grow darker over time. Leo Metten’s Oro Russet leather got its coloration from a six-month tanning process that included the use of bark tannins sourced from Californian redwood trees. Instead, the first Oro Russet leather came from a California tannery known as Leo Metten, which Red Wing partnered with beginning in the 1930s. has a long-standing relationship with Red Wing-they supplied leathers to Red Wing since the shoe company’s founding in 1905, and were acquired by Red Wing in 1986-they were not actually the original source of Oro Russet leather.

To this day, many Japanese still refer to Red Wing boots like the 875 and 877 as Irish Setters, and Red Wing’s Heritage division has released several models bearing the classic Irish Setter tag in response to the label’s lasting popularity. Modern reproduction of the Irish Setter Sport Boot tagīy then, Red Wing’s boots had become world-famous, including in Japan, where people often wore Irish Setter boots as a fashion statement. Because of how the leather’s color resembled the coat of an Irish Setter hunting dog, the 854 boot was given the nickname… “Irish Setter.” You can’t begin talking about Red Wing’s Oro leathers without bringing up the name “Irish Setter.” Originally the moniker came about in 1950, when Red Wing model #854 was released in a golden-orange-brown leather known as Oro Russet (sometimes referred to as Setter Red Oro, Russet Red Oro, or Red Oro Russet). Plus, we’ll dig into some contest pairs from the inaugural Patina Thunderdome to see how these closely-related-but-not-quite-identical leathers develop their patina.Ī big thank you to Michael Larson at Red Wing Heritage, who was kind enough to share much of the information discussed and photos featured below. Foot-Oro Legacy and Oro-iginal-by taking a look at the surprisingly complicated history and lineage of these leathers, along with their connection to Red Wing’s iconic moc toe boots. We’re highlighting two famous Red Wing Shoe leathers from S.B. This time around, we’re taking a deep dive. The footwear sold for $350 and has since been spotted on the feet of rappers Lil Wayne, Lil Nas X, Coi Leray and Rich the Kid.Īlas, there’s some bad news for aspiring fashionistas hoping to go viral in Instagram images wearing Red Wing’s version of Mario’s boots: they’re not for sale.In our How Leathers Age series, we’ve imparted some surface-level knowledge and background about each of the leathers we’ve showcased. This is not the first pair of once-fictional boots created this year: Brooklyn-based art collective MSCHF created a pair of ballooning red boots based on those worn by Japanese cartoon character Astro Boy. Over serene, meditative music, we witness designers and cobblers working out patterns, cutting leather, steaming and carefully stitching together a pair of boots that manages to be both exquisite and ridiculous. The company’s website offers a video showing the laborious process of transforming Mario’s somewhat bulbous footwear into a real-world version. In advance of this, Minnesota-based Red Wing Shoes has constructed a pair of the character’s iconic boots. In April, the character will be voiced by Virginia, Minn. Mario, the mustachioed and red-hatted Italian plumber who first appeared in Donkey Kong in 1981 and has since appeared in over 200 video games, is enjoying another moment in the limelight.

Red wing boot logo