Rombaut Isn't Afraid to Be Cringe
From the outside, it likely seemed that Mats Rombaut was flying high: Fresh from working in product development at Lanvin and the now-defunct Damir Doma, he saved up €10,000 at age 25, established eponymous footwear brand Rombaut from his Paris apartment in 2013, and grew it until Rombaut was stocked worldwide and worn by high-profile celebrities like Lil Nas X, Bella Hadid, FKA Twigs, and Suga of BTS, to name a few. But in reality, he was burning out.
Slowly, over years of setbacks, Mats had lost sight of his original goal: Utilizing state-of-the-art technology to rethink how footwear is made.
“I was very young [when I started Rombaut] and I’m an idealist. I knew there is a lot of greenwashing [in fashion] and that sustainability is not an easy topic — I did a lot of research — but I always believed in progress,” says Mats. “I've been disappointed a lot throughout this journey, especially in the first eight years. Every season, Rombaut was on the verge of bankruptcy.”
The trouble began when trying to manufacture science-backed, sustainable shoes. Mats’ biodegradable creations were both too expensive to produce and too delicate. And many of the cutting-edge fabrics he found — pineapple leather, mycelium-grown materials, biodegradable TPU — were all difficult to put into full-blown production. Years of setbacks and side jobs worked to make ends meet took their toll.
“I was in survival mode, not thinking about anything [other than Rombaut]. Then, two years ago, we started to make a profit and I could afford to think about other things in my life; because I was working all the time, there was no concept between private and work life. My mental health wasn’t even a topic,” says Mats.
“Coming out of that survival mode and realizing I was traumatized by 10 years of financial stress — and stress, in general, chronic stress — all my plans kind of fell apart. That was the moment that I had a breakdown: Last year, in July.”
A period of reflection was necessary.
After three months of stepping back to experiment with different forms of therapy and various creative outlets, Mats decided that instead of ending Rombaut, it was time to make it his main priority.
“I’ve made everything more simple. I decided to only focus on Rombaut and one other consulting job,” says Mats. “I was doing way too many things at the same time: I had two brands at one point.”
The first expression of a newly rejuvenated Mats Rombaut was the brand’s 10-year anniversary fashion show held this June at Paris Fashion Week. Each of the 30 looks were blank slates that Rombaut’s founder utilized to reshape his eponymous brand.
The collection also debuted a collaboration with PUMA, futuristic shoes with a sock-like upper and a hole carved into its sculptural sole unit, along with new designs for Spring/Summer 2025. These included knee-high boots with a stiletto heel emerging from a sneaker sole, sock-like clogs so minimalist that they’re downright futuristic, and moto-inspired boots with paper-thin soles.
Plus, there were clothes! Rombaut’s first-ever full apparel collection was offered in a stark, monochrome color palette. Inventively draped and manipulated, the clothing designs were inspired by Shaolin kung fu and Zen Buddhism.
SS25 was Rombaut's most comprehensive pushing project to date.
Across our conversation, Mats repeatedly talks about returning to the original mission statement for Rombaut. “I didn't start working in fashion to be going to parties, getting awards, or dressing certain people,” he says. “It was to bring solutions from an environmental angle.”
Now that his brand is profitable, he wants to design without thinking about trends and level up the eco-friendly materials he uses. Rombaut never abandoned its sustainable mindset, mind you, as its current shoe selection is shaped by materials like leather made from discarded apple scraps and Rise by Bloom, an algae-blended resin.
But arguably the biggest change fueling Rombaut is a retooled approach to design. “I would like to bring more positivity into fashion, or whatever I'm doing,” says Mats. “In the past, we used some humor but it was in a more cynical way, I don't want to be cynical anymore. It might be cringe, but I don't care. I don't want to be sad anymore, that's the thing.”
