Common Projects Mens Trainers

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Common Projects make plain leather trainers in Italy, with the style number, size and colour stamped in gold on the heel and no logo anywhere else. The Achilles is the original: a slim low-top in

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About Common Projects

An Italian-made trainer with no logo on it

Prathan Poopat and Flavio Girolami started Common Projects in 2004. Poopat had been art director at V Magazine, Girolami a creative consultant in Italian fashion, and the two had been working on shared projects across two countries for years — which is where the name came from. Their first shoe, the Achilles, was made by a factory in the Marche region that had spent a century producing formal footwear and had never built a trainer. The result was a plain leather low-top with the style, size and colour stamped in gold on the heel and nothing else. GQ has twice named the brand Sneaker of the Week. It has never run an advertising campaign.

Achilles or BBall Slim: which to choose

The Achilles is the low-profile original — Italian nappa leather, a slim sole and a shape that sits comfortably with denim, chinos or loose trousers. White and off white are the versions most people start with; the black and white pair is the easier one to wear year-round. The BBall Slim Deconstructed takes a basketball silhouette and strips the structure out of it, which gives a softer, slightly more relaxed shoe. In suede rather than smooth leather, it reads as more casual than the Achilles without losing the same plain finish.

Leather, sizing and keeping them clean

Common Projects use whole European sizes. The leather is soft from the start and gives a little across the width with wear, so a pair that feels close-fitting on the first outing usually settles. White leather marks, and it is worth cleaning it before the marks set rather than after. A protector spray applied before the first wear saves a good deal of work later.

You can see the rest of the range in mens trainers and footwear, and the sprays and brushes worth having in shoe care and accessories.

Common Projects FAQs

Common Projects are made in whole European sizes rather than half sizes. If you normally take a half size, it is worth trying a pair on in the Manchester or Sheffield store, or ordering the two sizes either side and returning the one that does not fit.
In Italy. The trainers are produced in the Marche region, at a factory that had made formal leather shoes for around a century before the brand's founders asked it to build a trainer in 2004.
They are the style number, the size and the colour code, stamped in gold foil on the outside of the heel. It is the only marking the shoe carries — there is no logo anywhere else on it.
The Achilles is the brand's first model, from 2004: a slim leather low-top with a thin sole. The BBall Slim Deconstructed is based on a basketball shape with the internal structure removed, which makes it softer and more relaxed. The pairs stocked here are in suede, so it sits a little more casually than the Achilles.
Wipe them down with a damp cloth and a small amount of mild soap, then let them dry away from direct heat. Treat marks early rather than letting them set, and use a protector spray before the first wear. Cleaners and sprays are in our shoe care range.
Yes. We stock Common Projects at both Yards Store shops — 13 Old Bank Street in Manchester and 86 Pinstone Street in Sheffield. Stock varies between the two, so call ahead if you are travelling for a particular size or colour.