About us
The Crew
Wingate Studio is a British footwear brand built around a simple belief: Strength is shaped in the hours around training, not just during it.
We design barefoot shoes for everyday movement, the walks, the commutes, the time on your feet between sessions because that’s where habits form and foundations are built. Not performance shoes. Not recovery tools. Just well-made footwear that supports natural movement, day in, day out.
The brand was founded by the Martinez family, led by Jo Martinez, a footwear developer with over 20 years experience in the global footwear industry. Jo graduated from Cordwainers at the London College of Fashion in 2005 and has spent her career developing footwear with factories across more than a dozen countries worldwide, specialising in design, production and ethical manufacturing.
Wingate Studio is shaped by that experience. Our shoes are developed with long-standing manufacturing partners in top ethically audited factories, using suppliers we’ve trusted for over 15 years. Every decision from materials to construction to packaging is considered, practical and intentional.
We’re a small, independent studio based on the South Coast of England, building something unique and doing it properly. No shortcuts. No noise. Just footwear designed to help you move well, every day.
Stronger every step.
our namesake
Joseph Wingate
During the COVID lockdown, a family school project led us to explore our roots and uncovered an unexpected connection. Jo’s great-great-great-grandfather, Joseph Wingate, born in 1841, was a shoemaker by trade.
That discovery gave the brand its name. Wingate nods to a long lineage of British shoemaking, while Studio reflects our modern, design-led approach, prioritising ergonomic design and sustainable materials. Together, they represent what we’re building today: footwear informed by craft and experience, but designed for contemporary movement and everyday life.
It’s not about nostalgia. It’s about continuity taking what has always mattered in shoemaking and applying it thoughtfully to how people move now, with the most cutting edge materials.
Our connection to the ocean
South Coast Studio
We’re based on the South Coast of England, shaped by open space, coastline, and a way of life that keeps you connected to movement and the natural world.
The sea has always been part of Jo’s life. Her dad was a diver, and she completed her BSAC scuba training at 14. Over the years, Jo and John have dived across coastlines around the world, from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to the UK, France, Turkey and Italy. Those experiences gave them a close, unfiltered view of the impact pollution and microplastics have on marine environments. That perspective informs how we think about what we make.
At Wingate Studio, we aim to reduce reliance on plastic wherever it’s practical to do so, and to make considered choices around materials, construction, and longevity. Sustainability isn’t treated as a badge it’s part of responsible design. Our goal is to create footwear with ergonomic barefoot DNA that’s ethical, durable, and comfortable, without pushing cost or compromise onto the wearer.