The primary time Madeline Kevelson stepped foot right into a John Fluevog Sneakers retailer, she was instantly greeted by staff carrying dirndls for no purpose apart from that they had all determined it was dirndls day. “So informal, I used to be like, ‘Oh my God, that is fabulous.’ I used to be instantly drawn in,” she tells Teen Vogue. She left the shop not with new sneakers however with a way of heat. 4 years and 43 pairs later, Kevelson, 27, is now assistant supervisor on the model’s Soho location in New York Metropolis. She can not think about her life with out Fluevog looming massive.
For collectors like Kevelson, the excellence between fan and muse is subsequent to none, as she and her fellow staff—referred to as Fluevogologists—are integral to the 56-year-old Canadian model’s identification and following, aptly named the Flummunity. They’re the utmost megafans, and so they know the model practically in addition to its founder John (who relies in Vancouver however does frequent the New York areas).
“That first time I used to be there, they had been so welcoming. I wasn’t even shopping for something,” Kevelson continues, reflecting on the all the time variety expertise when buying (or just admiring) Vogs, which followers name them colloquially. She had solely gone to the shop within the first place to borrow her buddy Amrit Khalsa’s Munsters, an exaggerated Mary Jane platform, for a Halloween costume. Since Khalsa labored on the Dumbo location, Kevelson figured she would cease by throughout her shift. Destiny should have been listening carefully that afternoon as a result of, simply weeks later, a part-time place opened up on the Prince Avenue location.
