Z-Step Ascend · 4/6 checks · Reference only — buy controls inert
Board art present
Primary plate resolves.
Seven views
7/7 view slots resolve · 1 real photograph(s), rest derived from the plate sheet.
Bogolan signature
Placements: crop neck band, left cuff, front placket.
Colourways
10 colourway(s) registered.
Owner marked art final
Awaiting owner sign-off — reference only.
Released for commerce
Buy controls stay disabled in preview.
This plate has not been released by the owner. Preview shows the storefront presentation and Bogolan detail only; price, stock and checkout stay disabled until the plate is signed off in the approval register.
House · Z-Vibe Footwear Atelier™ · Z-Step™
Ivory technical runner with a Bogolan-tooled quarter panel on a sculpted Z-Sole™. Bogolan mudcloth is hand-dyed: wash cool, dry in shade, never bleach the mudcloth trim.
Choose how you inspect it.
Visual experience—color and fit may vary.
Seven views
Z-Motion™ film slot
No film cut for Z-Step Ascend yet. The slot is reserved on the plate.
Commission the film →Z-Grip™ Ascend Cutunit ZG-1436
Cut for this style alone — no other shoe in the house carries this sole.
Reference specification for design review — not a manufacturing document.
Ivory technical runner with a Bogolan-tooled quarter panel on a sculpted Z-Sole™. Bogolan mudcloth is hand-dyed: wash cool, dry in shade, never bleach the mudcloth trim.
Made up in Leather and knit upper, Bogolan-tooled panel, Z-Sole™ chassis.
Registered in a single colourway, Pearl Ivory.
Sized 7–13 across the run.
Filed under Footwear · Z-Step™ Collection as Men suits, carried on the House · Z-Vibe Footwear Atelier™ · Z-Step™ line.
Thrive in motion.
Select a color to update all 7 views.
10 colourways
SKU ZV-FOOTWEAR-Z-STEP-COLLECTION-Z-STEP-ASCEND
Mudcloth in indigo & ivory — light tape on deep cloth.
24mm tape · 56mm motif repeat · house proportion
Flat woven mudcloth laces with gold Z aglets.
Story behind the design
Ntomi mudcloth in indigo & ivory, worked into the crop neck band, left cuff, front placket.
indigo & ivory
ZB-NTOM-IND-010
Bogolanfini begins as cotton mudcloth backed with a fine leather skiver so it can take a lace and a lasting pull. It is dyed with a double n'gallama bath with a lime-brightened reserve for the pale ground — the pattern is not printed on, it is drawn in mud and then the ground around it is lifted away. On this piece the mudcloth meets leather and knit upper.
The tape carries fanned chevrons opening from a spine. In the Bamana reading, Ntomi is the shade tree — gathering, welcome, shelter for others. Z-Vibe keeps the motif at heritage scale rather than shrinking it into a logo pattern, so the hand of the maker stays legible on the finished shoe.
Mudcloth is placed on construction points, never scattered as decoration: crop neck band, left cuff, front placket. These are the lines the eye already follows on this silhouette, so the cloth reads as structure — an edge, a facing, a seam — and holds its meaning at three metres and at arm's length alike.
Each length is block-matched panel to panel — the atelier discards any length where the repeat cannot be aligned. Tape width and motif repeat are cut to the size band, so a petite run and an extended run carry the same proportion rather than the same measurement.
African heritage, global luxury, future design: the mudcloth is set against European finishing and the aged-gold Z-Closure™ mark. Nothing is erased on either side — the meeting is the design. Different Roots. One Human Story.
Care · Cold hand-wash or specialist clean only. Mud dye deepens with age; never bleach, and dry flat away from direct sun.
Each step below reflects work that actually exists for this piece. Refinement is a design process — it does not imply the piece is production-released.
Owner-approved design board intakeComplete
The signed design board was registered as the source of truth; silhouette, Bogolan placement and hardware were locked from it.
Z-Sole Architecture™ assignmentComplete
Sole identity resolved for this style — Z-Grip™ Ascend Cut (ZG-4124) on the Z-Grip™ lugged rubber chassis, split-diamond Z lugs stepped in three depths, rounded volume last with a deep instep for thick socks, stack 28 mm heel / 18 mm forefoot, 10 mm drop, laced in narrow Bogolan ribbon lace with a hand-knotted stopper, diamond Z at the lateral wall, Z-VIBE at the medial wall. Tread, last and stack height were made unique to the shoe rather than shared across the register.
Bogolan signature verificationComplete
Mudcloth was confirmed as a construction detail (laces, panel, tongue or heel band) and not surface print, and the aged-gold Z-Closure™ mark was placed.
Z-Studio 4K refinement passComplete
Studio refinement rebuilt the shoe at 4K: cleaner last geometry, corrected proportions and true material rendering on the released angles.
Seven-view studio captureIn progress
1 of 7 angles are distinct photographs; 02 Left, 03 Right, 04 Back, 05 Interior, 06 Inner tags, 07 Fabric detail still read the design board.
Cut in Leather and knit upper with Bogolan-tooled panel, Z-Sole™ chassis. Stay-put ergonomic panels, high-rise support, breathable zones, functional pockets.
Bogolan is placed with intention \u2014 crop neck band, left cuff, front placket \u2014 a construction language rather than decoration.
Z zipper pull at the Z zip pull at the heel counter and a micro-Z at the tongue, finished under Global Heritage Fusion\u2122: African heritage in dialogue with global tailoring and future design.
Thrive in motion.
Bogolan SignatureIn development
Reference study · not yet for sale
This piece is documented from an atelier design board. It is shown for reference only while the house completes its photography, sizing and release. Purchase, pricing and availability appear here once the owner approves the finished piece.
Readiness · 1 of 8 complete
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