The Story of SeaVees

Our brand was lost for nearly 40 years, and then revived when our founder discovered an original 1964 pair in a Tokyo secondhand store. Ever since, we've turned forgotten things into something new. 

 

 

SeaVees arrived to the footwear scene in 1964. Launched by tire company BFGoodrich, who used leftover rubber to make shoes, they became the first brand to pioneer the concept of sneakers as casual, everyday wear. The brand was then sold to Converse and remained in production until the early ‘70s, until the US government forced them to shut down for having a monopoly on the sneaker market.

Despite their early promise and positioning, the SeaVees brand was forgotten for decades.

Until 2005 when vintage collector and now Founder & CEO Steven Tiller was in Tokyo wandering around a secondhand shop and found something that stopped him in his tracks. It was an original deadstock pair of SeaVees from the 1960s. At the time he’d been working in footwear for decades and had never heard of the brand that he later learned had been shuttered for nearly 40 years. 

He picked up the story where it left off—reimagining classic casual styles with modern materials and elevated designs, honoring the brand’s birth, and rebirth. 

 

This year we're celebrating 20 years since this chance discovery led to the brand's revival, and 60 years since SeaVees debuted as one of the first casual sneaker brands on the market.