- I'm Brian Sacawa,
you're watching "He Spoke Style",
and today we are comparing
two minimal leather sneakers,
the Koio Capri Triple White,
and the Common Projects Original Achilles.
Let's get to it.
(pensive hip-hop beat)
So I'm focusing on these two brands,
which are in a higher price category.
Obviously the Common Projects Achilles
is the sneaker that everyone's always
looking for a lower-priced,
similar quality alternative to.
There are lots of sneaker brands out there
that do a shoe like this.
I've only tried a handful,
however if you want an incredibly thorough,
insightful, fair, and honest comparison
of nearly the complete range
of minimal white leather sneakers,
we're talking from the $60 Stan Smiths
all the way up to
the 400 plus dollar Common Projects,
I highly recommend checking out
my friend Jon's video over on "The Kavalier".
He's done a few of them,
I'll link to them down below.
I've worn Common Projects for seven years now.
I've owned three pairs in that seven years.
The pair you'll see today in this video
are pretty much brand new.
So I would say I get three
to three-and-a-half years out of a pair,
and that's with very heavy frequent wear.
I'll be honest and say
that I've never really actively searched
for a lower-priced alternative.
I absolutely love the first pair
of Common Projects that I owned.
They were comfortable,
they lasted a very long time, great quality,
and I love the silhouette and the style.
And once I find something that I like like that,
and it's high quality,
I'm totally willing to pay the price
for that particular item.
Now that doesn't mean
that you can't find something similar
of similar or equal quality at a lower price,
and that's what we're gonna talk about right now.
So why are Common Projects 400 plus dollars?
Well, first, Common Projects is a luxury brand.
So you pay that luxury premium,
or that luxury tax,
if you will, for the name.
So there's a markup because of that,
and there's a markup because
they don't sell them themselves.
They sell them through other luxury retailers,
like Mr. Porter, Ssense, FarFetch,
Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue.
The brand needs to make money,
the retailers need to make money,
so the price gets marked up.
Third, they're high quality.
High quality materials, great construction,
and you're paying for that, too.
Enter the direct to consumer brands,
of which Koio is just one of many.
By cutting out the middleman,
meaning the retailer,
and selling directly to you,
brands like Koio are able to offer
a similar quality product
at a much lower price point.
So how do these here stack up?
The Koio Capri Triple White
and the Common Projects Original Achilles?
Let's take a closer look.
So what I'm gonna do here is
to go through all the details
of the Koio Capri Triple White,
and then all the details
of the Common Projects Original Achilles.
We'll talk about the similarities between the two,
I'll point out the differences,
we'll do a full comparison side by side,
and then finally I'll give you my opinion
about which I think is better.
All right, the Koio Capri Triple White.
Koio, the brand founded in 2015,
so relatively new,
by two German sneaker enthusiasts.
The shoe is made by hand
in the Marche region of Italy.
It's constructed with a Vitello calf leather,
which is known for its smooth feel and durability.
Lining is leather,
it's a soft Italian calf leather for most of it,
and then a suede finish in the heel cup.
Waxed cotton laces,
it has a Margom sole,
very durable and lightweight.
Hand-painted edges,
there is Koio branding on the heel,
on the tongue and on the sole,
available in US sizes seven through 13,
no half sizes,
and priced at $248.
Now we're looking at
the Common Projects Original Achilles.
The brand launched in 2004
as a collaboration between two guys,
Flavio Girolami and Prathan Poopat.
It's a New York based company.
The shoe itself is manufactured
in the Marche region of Italy,
made with an Italian Nappa leather
that is hand-stitched.
Lining is leather as well,
with a suede finish in the heel cup.
Cotton laces, Margom sole,
no branding to speak of
other than inside the footbed,
and then you do have the numbers in gold
on the side of the shoe,
back near the heel.
Those three sets of numbers correspond
to the style number, the European size,
and the color number.
Available in European sizes 37 to 46,
price: $410.
Let's take a look at some of the similarities now.
Number one, the style.
These shoes have basically the same exact shape,
profile, and silhouette.
From the side they look similar,
from the top they look similar,
even from a short distance
they look pretty much exactly the same.
Next they both have the Margom sole.
It's lightweight, it's durable,
and it's become that sort of gold-standard
amongst sneakers in this class.
Third similarity is that both of these shoes
are extremely comfortable.
In my experience they do take
a little bit of time to break in,
it is leather after all,
but after they are broken in,
the leather is very supple
and they feel great on the feet.
Now on to the differences.
The first and biggest difference,
obviously, is the price.
Koios are 248, Common Projects 410.
Over a $160 difference,
it's the price you pay for luxury
and not being direct-to-consumer.
These shoes are very similar,
however there are some small differences
in terms of the details.
On the toe box,
you can see there's a slight difference
in the angle of the leather coming down.
The Koios are straighter,
and the Common Projects have
a little bit of a curve to them.
From the side, on both sides actually,
the Koio has an extra piece of leather,
whereas the Common Projects just has some stitching,
and you can make a case
that it's more minimal, perhaps,
with just the stitching.
At the top of the tongue,
the Common Projects has a little more padding,
and Koio does not.
The Koio does, however,
have more padding around the ankle
than the Common Projects,
and then on the heel you can see
a larger piece of leather on the Koio
than on the Common Projects,
and then also a little extra strip running down,
where again the Common Projects is just stitched.
Laces, fairly similar,
though the Koio laces are wider
than the Common Projects'.
Branding: significantly more branding on the Koio
than the Common Projects.
You have the Koio logo on the heel,
sole, and underneath the tongue.
And then on top of the tongue,
you have their little graphic logo.
Common Projects has a logo
inside the shoe on the footbed,
and then of course the gold numbers on the side.
Sizing, now I found a slight difference between the two.
Now both of these shoes are a European size 42,
but as you can see,
the Common Projects are slightly,
and I mean very slightly,
longer than the Koios.
Same goes for the width,
but here we have the Koios being slightly wider.
And when I say slightly,
I mean like half a millimeter.
And finally the weight.
There is a weight difference.
Koios are slightly heavier than the Common Projects.
Koios weigh in at 514 grams,
that's 18.1 ounces, or 1.13 pounds,
and the Common Projects are 491 grams,
that's 17.3 ounces, or 1.08 pounds.
Not saying you can feel a difference,
but one shoe is heavier than the other.
Full comparison now,
side by side, head to head.
Koios on the left, Common Projects on the right.
Starting with where they're produced,
now both of these shoes are produced
in the Marche region of Italy.
Construction, both use Italian leather.
The Koio use a Vitello calf leather,
Common Projects use a Nappa leather.
I will say though that the two leathers
feel pretty much exactly the same.
Maybe the Common Projects' is a little bit smoother,
but not a huge noticeable difference,
if there is any at all.
Sole, both have the Margom sole.
Style and aesthetics,
it's the same profile.
There are some very minor stylistic differences,
but I'm gonna say they both score points here,
and we're gonna call it a tie.
Branding, there is more branding on the Koios,
but one could argue that it's more subtle
than the gold numbers on the Common Projects.
Comfort, both shoes are very comfortable.
Tied there as well.
Price, no comparison here,
with the Koios at 248
and the Common Projects at 410.
Koio definitely comes out in front.
Now the big question is, which is better?
The Koio Capri Triple White,
or the Common Projects Original Achilles?
I'm not here to tell you how to spend your money.
And the concept of "what is better",
especially in this case,
where as you can see,
the shoes are so comparable,
really becomes a little subjective, price aside.
On that note,
if you want this style of sneaker,
the white leather minimalist sneaker,
and you are trying to decide
between the Koio and the Common Projects,
but price is a concern,
I would buy the Koio
Capri Triple Whites without hesitation.
You are getting a premium product
that is exceptionally similar
to be higher priced Common Projects.
If price is not a concern,
the decision is really up to you.
They're both great sneakers,
as we've established in this video,
they're both similar.
There are some very subtle
stylistic detail differences.
You are getting a little bit more
of that luxury brand experience,
and quote unquote "status",
with the Common Projects.
You'll just have to weigh whether that is worth
160 extra dollars for you.
No judgment, I've had three pairs of Common Projects.
I have and wear the Koio Capri Triple Whites,
I've worn sneakers by M. Gemi and Suitsupply,
which are also similar.
Bottom line is that either one of these shoes
is a great pick.
What you need to decide for yourself is,
how much are you willing to spend?
So what are your thoughts
about Koio versus Common Projects?
Have you tried both of them,
are you on the fence?
What do you think are the pros and cons of each?
Leave those comments down below.
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Until next time,
thanks for watching, and stay tailored.