Just in Time for Fall, JJJJound Jumps Into the Approach Shoe Game

Fall is right around the corner, which means it’s time to say goodbye to those fashion flip-flops and put away the dogs. Autumn has always been prime boot season, but these days it’s also time for a Gore-Tex-clad, Vibram-soled lineup of rugged sneakers to take the stage. And of all the footwear currents surging through menswear—slimline sneakers, heritage runners, pinched-toe loafers—the approach shoe might be the most vibrant of the bunch. Right on cue, Montreal design studio JJJJound has teamed up with Italian footwear maker Diemme for a pair that feels pitch-perfect for the cooler months ahead.Beyond that coveted Frank Ocean co-sign, Diemme is known for making outdoorsy boots and performance-minded sneakers with a contemporary fashion-dude topspin. Each shoe is made in Onè di Fonte, Italy, a region famed for mountaineering footwear, so an approach shoe—the low-slung, technical footwear originally designed for real-deal climbers—is very much in its wheelhouse.The two labels set their sights on the JJJJound Movida, a sleek trail sneaker that slides perfectly into the larger approach-shoe wave cresting in menswear right now. True to JJJJound form, it gets a low-touch, minimalist remix: deep chocolate suede, a grippy Vibram sole, and the subtlest JJJJound logo on the heel. (If that’s too subtle, they come with an extra set of apple-red laces.) The result is utilitarian enough without making you look like you’re actually on your way up a summit, and it feels tailor-made to pair with chunky corduroys, relaxed trousers, lived-in denim, and all manner of other autumnal pants.The collaboration, dropping on September 10, comes straight from founder Justin Saunders and JJJJound’s winning playbook: take a style already bubbling up among the world’s art directors and stylists, give it the slightest twist, and firmly apply the JJJJound stamp of minimalist cool. Moreover, thanks to Diemme’s alpine bona fides, it’s a shoe with genuine technical roots that still looks completely at home stomping around on a city sidewalk.Time and time again, Saunders and co. have proved they don’t need to reinvent a style to make it feel fresh. Sometimes it’s enough to spot the right thing at the right moment and simply turn the dial a few degrees. Just as the air starts to cool, a chocolate-suede approach shoe, rugged enough for the trail and handsome enough for a Friday night, feels like pretty damn good timing.