Introducing the Heddels x Crown Northampton Grand Union Wholecut Sneaker

We joined forces with Crown Northampton to make the world's best denim sneaker, built with Dyneema-infused raw denim and veg-tan leather.

James Smith

It’s been a long time since our last collaborative product, but we’re back with a bang. We’ve joined forces with Crown Northampton to launch the Grand Union Wholecut Sneaker, a denim & leather sneaker built to last for years and earn unique fades along the way.

But there is much more to this Union than denim and leather – there’s a laundry list of world-class materials, shoemaking expertise, and Northamptonshire heritage in each pair. We visited Crown Northampton to finalize the design and the Grand Union Wholecut turn from a concept into what is arguably the world’s strongest denim sneaker.

The Grand Union Wholecut

It’s been a long time since our last collaborative product, but we’re back with a bang. We’ve joined forces with Crown Northampton to launch the Grand Union Wholecut Sneaker, a denim & leather sneaker built to last for years and earn unique fades along the way.

But there is much more to this Union than denim and leather – there’s a laundry list of world-class materials, shoemaking expertise, and Northamptonshire heritage in each pair. We visited Crown Northampton to finalize the design and the Grand Union Wholecut turn from a concept into what is arguably the world’s strongest denim sneaker.

The Grand Union Wholecut

Melding Crown Northampton’s world-class, heritage-informed shoemaking with Heddels’ raw denim DNA, the Grand Union Wholecut is made from 14 oz. selvedge denim comprised of 30% Dyneema® yarns. For those who aren’t in military or aerospace design, Dyneema® is the world’s strongest fiber: 15 times stronger than steel on a weight-for-weight basis. Fully lined with full-grain vegetable-tanned calf leather from Italy, this particular denim has an AA motorcycle armor abrasion rating and a whopping 550kg tensile strength on the warp yarns. In other words, it should stand up to some serious punishment.

This hardy selvedge is fully lined with Italian vegetable-tanned calf leather and cut into a wholecut upper; a shoemaking technique established in Northamptonshire shoemaking over 100 years ago. The Wholecut design also means there are fewer joins in the upper, improving structural integrity and longevity. A contrasting Lactae Hevea sole completes the look, which is sidewall-stitched and completely resoleable for continuous re-crafting.

The Grand Union Wholecut is designed to fade, and fade it will. This Dyneema selvedge crocks like crazy, meaning the white-accented colorway will turn completely indigo with use and wear. The black-accented pair will show less denim bleed on the leather accents, but provide even more contrast once the denim has faded from contact with sunlight, water, abrasion, and anything else life throws at it.

Heddels x Crown Northampton Grand Union Wholecut Sneaker, available for $440 (incl. tax & duties for US customers) exclusively from Crown Northampton.

Materials

• Upper: Dyneema Denim – 14 oz. raw selvedge denim, woven using 30% Dyneema yarns. Dyneema is the strongest fiber in the world, stronger than steel on a weight-for-weight basis. AA motorcycle abrasion rated with 550kg of tensile strength on the warp yarns.

• Upper Lining, Accents, and footbed: Italian Veg-Tanned Baby Calf – Tanned in traditional wooden drums over eight weeks in a Tuscan tannery using the top selection of raw material sourced from the Alpine region. Typically reserved for the uppers of bespoke dress shoes, this premium leather will gain patina with use and wear and mold to your feet for a seriously comfortable wear. Strong enough to handle multiple re-soles if required.

• Toe Puff: Oak Bark Tanned Calf Leather – Sourced from the last oak bark tannery in the UK, J & FJ Baker, this leather has been selected for the toe puff for its exceptional ability to mold to the foot.

• Sole: Lactae Hevea Cup Sole – Made from natural rubber and sidewall stitched for a fully re-soleable construction.

• Cushioning: Cork & Memory Foam – For instant cushioning that will mold to your feet, getting more comfortable with each wear.

• Laces: Waxed cotton

Heddels x Crown Northampton Grand Union Wholecut Sneaker, available for $440 (incl. tax & duties for US customers) exclusively from Crown Northampton.

Wear, Fade, Recraft

The resilient materials used throughout the Grand Union Wholecut mean that it can be resoled and recrafted numerous times. Cheap and even some expensive ‘designer’ sidewall-stitched sneakers can sometimes be resoled, but often their cheaper leathers and mass-produced construction mean they can’t tolerate repeated interactions with the fairly heavy agricultural approaches of cobbling.

The robust denim, world-class leathers, and masterful wholecut construction of the Grand Union Wholecut mean they can be re-soled whenever required.

Denim & leather, together forever.

Why Crown Northampton?

If someone were to ask for an example of a brand that meets the Heddels philosophy, Crown Northampton would be a prime example. Founded by fifth-generation shoemaker Chris Woodford, Crown Northampton applies the shoemaking techniques & materials usually reserved for top-shelf/bespoke dress shoes and applies them to casual sneakers. The result? Probably the best flat-soled sneaker money can buy, featuring the finest leathers, time-honored shoemaking techniques, and re-soleable construction that will keep them on your feet for years to come.

As the name would suggest, Crown Northampton is based in the world shoemaking mecca of Northamptonshire. With a shoemaking history spanning back to the 12th century, Northamptonshire has produced footwear for royals, servicemen, and everyone in between for nearly 100 years, producing around fifty million pairs of boots for the Allied forces during World War I alone. Sadly, Northamptonshire is no longer as buoyant as it once was in terms of footwear production – globalization and offshore manufacturing have had a significant impact on its shoemaking industry. Crown Northampton works tirelessly to preserve Northampton’s shoemaking heritage, prioritizing the upskilling of staff as one of the pillars of its mission.

As well as using the best shoemaking techniques, some originally formulated in Northampton, Crown spares no expense when producing its footwear. The best materials are selected – no compromises. The same goes for the Grand Union Wholecut Sneaker.

The Name

As well as being a union between two like-minded companies, the name ‘Grand Union’ covers a lot of ground.

In 1793, the Grand Junction Canal was opened in England, connecting the Midlands with London and beyond. This revolutionized the transport of goods between the regions, which, in the case of Northampton, was footwear and leather. Fast forward to 1929, and the Grand Union Canal was completed, consolidating and extending the Grand Junction Canal and other smaller waterways to create one continuous, efficient trade route. This new network optimized trade between the Midlands (where Northampton is) and key textile cities like Leicester, Manchester, and Liverpool.

But wait, denim, right? Well, while all this canal building was going on, North America was playing catch-up on mechanized textile processing, using technology pioneered in England. But by the time the Grand Union Canal was transporting textiles across the U.K., denim had already swept through the USA as the workwear fabric of the gold rush and subsequently other utilitarian applications.

As such, our union with Crown Northampton pays homage to Northampton shoemaking and developments in the textile industry on both sides fo the Atlantic.

Design

When initially concepting our collaboration, we knew we wanted to make something durable. Our Managing Editor & Partner, David Shuck, went a little bit “mad scientist” and sent Chris Woodford a roll of bulletproof material with the hope that it would be able to form the upper. Safe to say that didn’t work out, and we turned our heads to something more in the Heddels wheelhouse – raw denim.

David sourced the Dyneema denim and sent a bolt of it to Crown Northampton HQ, where Chris got to work on formulating a silhouette that would exhibit the denim, amazing leathers, and some true Northamptonshire shoemaking in the best way possible.

Denim isn’t Crown Northampton’s bread and butter, so Chris had to troubleshoot some initial issues to ensure the collab met the brand’s standards. Denim is a textile; therefore, working with it is totally different from working with leather. It can’t be clicked using machines or hand tools for clicking leather, bleeds dye on other materials in the vicinity, and can fray if not cut correctly. Chris was concerned that having too many sections in the upper would give rise to potential fraying at the edges of panels or joins. The answer? A wholecut upper; one of Chris’s specialties. 

When our Editor, James Smith, arrived at Crown Northampton to help finalize the silhouette, Chris took him through his pattern-making process. High-touch and full of personal flair, Chris’s design process starts with covering a last in masking tape and drawing the fundamental lines of the silhouette. The tape is then carefully trimmed and removed with a scalpel before being placed onto paper for scaling, refinement, and ultimately creating the master pattern. That is a reductionist summary of Chris’s design and pattern-making process, but this was such a joy to watch, it deserves its own article. The images above show the key steps.

How It’s Made

The Grand Union is made in the same way as other wholecut sneakers in Crown Northampton’s Hand Stitch collection, with additional steps to fit the Dyneema denim. For a full rundown of how Crown constructs its sneakers, check out The Journey of  a Crown Northampton Shoe, but the steps for the Grand Union can be seen above

Made to Order – Each pair is made to order with a custom fit service and in‑factory customer support for sizing.

Clicking Room –  Leather & Dyneema denim is cut into the pieces of the shoe pattern.

Prep/Closing Room (Upper Construction) – Uppers are sewn, Dyneema denim is worked onto the leather, stiffeners are added, and overlays are stitched on. Maker signs and marks inside each shoe.

Lasting & Making – The upper is shaped on a Springline last, and the shoe is constructed. A hot cork layer is added. The cup sole is side‑wall stitched onto the upper.

Shoe Room – Insoles installed, lacing, and final inspection.

Grand Union Fade Competition

But that’s not all!

we are organizing a fade competition surrounding our collaboration release with Crown Northampton of a Dyneema blend denim shoe, that will likely last longer than the foot that wears it.

But how will it fade? That’s what we want to know! We’re calling on all those lucky enough to buy a pair to document their journey on the first year of wear, and the one crowned with the best will win a free recraft and a new pair of Crown Northampton shoes.

• Competition is limited to those with a pair of the Heddels x Crown Northampton Grand Union sneakers (both colorways are eligible)

• The competition will start the day the sneakers ship from Crown Northampton’s workshop and last for one year beyond that (est. January 2026)

• Contestants will receive check-in emails for photos at six months and then again to submit their photo entries at the one year mark

• Heddels and Crown Northampton will narrow down the top five entries and present them for our readers to vote for the winner

• Grand Prize is a free recrafting of the winner’s Grand Union sneakers and a new pair of Crown Northampton Upton Wholecuts of their choosing

So get your pair, get entered, and we look forward to seeing your faded feet soon!

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