By the 1960s, California was a certified hub of good design, fresh fashions, and inimitable cool. From the Pasadena Museum of Arts California Design series (highlighting the likes of Eames) to hot rod culture, and of course the smooth style of Steve McQueen, the state was very much at the vanguard of American culture. Add the relaxed atmosphere of the beach and Richard Nuetra’s west coast adaptation of mid-century modern, and one begins to discover the wealth of inspiration and diversity that exploded during the decade.

One of the State’s near forgotten 1960s exports, Seavees was reintroduced to the world in 2006. Originally launched by B.F. Goodrich in 1964, the initial derivation of the Seavees brand speaks to a time when many tire companies sidelined in rubber soled footwear. Goodrich managed Seavees for only a short time before selling off their shoe stakes to Converse. A complaint to the US Department of Justice in 1971 led Converse to sell off some of their assets (they’d been charged with holding a monopoly on shoe manufacture). They kept the Jack Purcell, inherited from Goodrich, shipped off P.F. Fliers, and ultimately decided to shut down operations of Seavees. Seven years after launch, the brand would lay dormant for almost 40 years.

But, unlike many of the heritage brand stories we are fed, the new Seavees story is much more about cultural history than it is about revival.

Derek Galkin and Steven Tiller are the new minds behind Seavees. They met for the first time in Los Angeles’ Avalon Hotel. A modernist masterpiece, the space was undergoing a rehabilitation of its own at the time of the meeting. Unknowingly, the hotels history would feed into an underpinning of a brand Galkin and Tiller began to hatch. The location provided a space for the two to share values and ideas around shared aesthetics and aspirations.

As co-founder of Medium, Galkin was no stranger to the footwear industry. Neither was Tiller, who was working with Sperry Topsider at the time. Both men had an affinity for Sperry, a love of its heritage and the romance surrounding an icon. A meeting originally intended as a discussion of the brand turned to something new - the spark behind a then unnamed brand. They spoke for months, batting ideas around and clarifying their desires.

Still, nothing tangible emerged.