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Favourite shoes: My corduroy + crepe-soled Bongos

Bongos - top

These are the only pair of Bongos, a crepe-soled, corduroy sample shoe manufactured by George Cox for Lloyd Johnson in the late 90s.

These unusual elastic-vented slip-ons were intended for Johnson’s Beatnik range, sold through his three London shops, at 406 King’s Road, in Kensington Market and at 293 Portobello Road.

In the event the design didn’t make it into production.

Bongos -side + front
Bongos - side view
Bongos - front view

Lloyd gave them to me to wear with my Johnson’s corduroy suits (one jacket was three-button, single vent, the other sported a Peter Pan collar).

I’ve had these Bongos for more than a decade and treasure them highly. We’ll see whether they make next spring’s exhibition  Lloyd Johnson: The Modern Outfitter, which is already beginning to take shape.

More news of that over the coming weeks.

Geo Cox’s Facebook page is here.

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