Skip to main content

Markhor Is Making Your New Favorite Dress Shoes

Markhor
Ask the artisans behind Markhor, the Pakistani shoe company changing the men’s shoe game in a big way, about the care and attention to detail that goes into the brand’s shoes. In fact, how about 1,800 years worth of care?

Made in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Okara, the Markhor line of sleek, meticulously crafted footwear uses techniques that are, in some cases, nearly 2,000 years old. Talk about serious craftsmanship, resulting in seriously stylish men’s dress shoes. The brand’s start stems from a meeting had by co-founders Sidra Qasim and Waqas Ali with Okara’s local village council — and thus, the start of a premium footwear brand grounded in centuries-old construction techniques.

Related Videos

Starting with high-quality Pakistani leather and ending with finishing touches like an imported Italian leather sole, a simple yet subtly stylish pair of footwear like the Cynosure Wingtip exemplifies the refined design and intensive process put forth by Markhor.

And that attention to detail is even exemplified by the brand’s name, which comes from Pakistan’s national animal, a large species of northern Pakistani wild goat that’s now endangered. Your average footwear brand, Markhor is not. The company’s dedication to animals shines through in its animal welfare policies, a novelty among some fashion companies.

Markhor

Markhor avoids using leather from countries that treat animals poorly, and it doesn’t trade in animal skins. Ultimately, you can be sure you’re buying a beautiful pair of shoes made with every little detail considered.  And that definitely makes Markhor a brand for all kinds of menswear aficionados — even if you normally wear a rugged pair of leather boots.

The Solemn Derby in particular uses extremely fine lines of stitching and no added fussy details — it’s part of the brand’s clean design philosophy, down to the hidden brass eyelets for an even simpler look. And if it’s modern, crisp footwear you seek for both dressy and business casual style situations, look to something like the sleek Lagom Loafer to accent everything from classic dark denim to slim chinos.

And for those who crave a bit more sprezzatura in their style, the Mark Loafer, with its tan leather and subtle green accents, is unique enough to pass the spring and summer eye test. That it too, is made with responsible attention to detail is enough to make you want to buy a pair — and then perhaps a few more to round out your dress shoe rotation.

Editors' Recommendations

Jaden Smith and Coco Gauff Celebrate Black Voices in New Balance’s Collection
jaden smith coco gauff front new balance campaign 0

There's a lot we love about New Balance, including its commitment to Made-in-America craftsmanship from its hometown of Boston, Mass. But its Black History Month campaign, which will be available online and in select retail stores on February 15, has got us more excited than ever. Partnering with some of the brightest lights of the next generation, its My Story Matters campaign features two of the most exciting young Black Americans with voices that resonate far and wide. Renaissance man Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith) and tennis phenom Coco Gauff front the company's latest capsule, which features limited editions of two of its most iconic shoes and fresh, inclusive apparel.

Related Guides

Read more
The 11 Best Thermal Shirts for Men in 2022
best mens thermal shirts 0  buck mason

We know just the layer you should reach for when it's so cold, you can't help but wish you were in front of a roaring fire: That would be one of the best thermal shirts, a perfectly rugged and dependable layer to add to your seasonal wardrobe. Consider the thermal shirt a durable basic to wear all on its own or else layered underneath one of the best men's shirts for winter, to start.

And the right thermal shirt can serve as an insulating layer for your top half if you just so happen to be wearing a pair of the best thermal underwear in extreme cold. Heck, think of a thermal shirt like an upgrade for your basics wardrobe, in the same way that thermal underwear might replace a more straightforward pair of the best underwear this season. If all of that sounds well and good, but you don't know where to start your search, well, the best online clothing stores for men have you covered. Heck, let's take it a step further and mention that the brands you know and love, the best men's clothing brands (period) are also crafting thermal shirts aplenty for winter, so let's get shopping.
Vince Slim-Fit Stretch Cotton Thermal Long-Sleeve Shirt

Read more
How Mark Wahlberg Designed Some of the Most Durable Workout Clothes for Men
mark wahlberg municipal feature dsc4959

For his entire career, people have been talking about what Mark Wahlberg was wearing. In the early Nineties as the fresh-faced Marky Mark, he and his Calvin Klein undies towered from billboards even as his music climbed Billboard. The Aughts, the leather and skin and Jennifer Aniston in Rock Star, and the 2010s, satin trunks in the instant classic (and Oscar-winning) The Fighter. After decades of microscopic attention to what Mark Wahlberg is wearing (and especially what he didn't wear), it makes sense that in July 2020, the 49-year-old did the obvious and launched his workout clothing brand, Municipal.

Wahlberg is no stranger to partnering with clothing brands for signature lines and one-offs; an Indian Motorcycles capsule with Fuelled Apparel and Jordan are just a few recent examples. But Municipal is distinct in that its genesis was not introduced by a company man or crafty agent but from an organic idea: What if men's everyday wear could get them through an entire day?

Read more