Koga · Barefoot Tabi Sneakers · Charcoal Ninja Black (W+)
Wide toe box. Zero drop. A low, quiet calf leather sneaker for the everyday — worn without thinking. Made by hand, in small batches.
Three lasts
Find your size and last
Measure barefoot, standing, weight on both feet, heel against a wall. Measure in the evening — feet run larger by the end of the day. Feet differ; enter the longer one.
Every figure is a last measurement — the form the boot is built on — and equals the maximum internal dimension when new. Vegetable-tanned leather gives with wear. A starting point, not a rule.
The split toe. Centuries old.
The Koga
Koga is the signature tabi of Gaucho Ninja - the split-toe sneaker. The tabi divides the big toe from the rest, the way the working footwear of Japan has for centuries. It is named for Koga, the province that sat beside Iga.
A tabi is a split-toe shoe - the big toe is divided from the other four. It comes from centuries-old Japanese footwear worn by workers and climbers who needed the big toe free to grip. Koga puts that split toe on a barefoot last, in calf leather.
Gaucho Ninja was created in 2015, in rural Herefordshire by Lisandro Serra Delmar. The thread goes back four generations - to his gaucho-saddler great-grandfather in Argentina. An unbroken thread of artisans.
Every pair is pre-ordered to avoid waste, and made in an ethical, carefully selected workshop. The upper is full-grain calf leather - it darkens and softens with use. The build is cemented and low-profile: light on the foot, close to the ground, the toe divided so the big toe can grip and
balance on its own.
Product information
-Anti slip rubber soles based on Fibonacci's Sacred Geometry
-Wide Plus Lasts. Splay your feet
-Re-solable and repairable by any cobbler in the world
-Removable 4mm insoles (1.5mm natural leather + 2.5mm foam). If you need more volume, remove it to gain more space
-Full grain calf leather, It is supple from the first wear, breathes in warm weather.
-Zero-drop handmade sneakers
-Stack height: 7.5mm + 4mm removable insole
-Wide toe box for natural toe splay
-Completely flexible out of the box. Allow 1-2 days for complete flexibility
-Fully breathable. Naturally no sweat or odor
-Unisex fit
-Designed in the UK
-Made in limited runs
-Weight : Based on a single shoe in size: EU 42 | UK 8 | US 9
443 gr.
Size and Fit
We highly recommend you measure your feet before buying. Measure them by placing your heel against a wall, measure a line in cm from the center of your heel to your biggest toe whilst barefooted. Please insert this value in our size guide to know exactly your EU size. Our lasts are unique to us. Contact us if you need support about your size.
Shipping Info
- -Pre-orders ship in September
- -Orders are fulfilled in sequence
- -Tracking provided once shipped
Quality like this takes time. Nothing is rushed.
All orders placed outside the UK and EU will be subject to duties and taxes that depend on the destination of the parcel. Customers might have to pay their taxes once they receive their order.
MATERIALS
-Full grain calf leather
-Natural leather lining
-Natural rubber Sacred Geometry sole
-Waxed Cotton laces
Made by hand in China by an artisan factory
CONSTRUCTION
Strobel + Cemented construction.
-Full resoling
- -Improved flexibility
- -Repairable by selected cobblers in the world
CARE Instructions
-Clean regularly with a soft brush
- -Use a natural saddle soap when needed
- -Condition sparingly using our organic plant based leather conditioner
- -Avoid direct heat when drying
Proper care allows the leather — and the shoe — to improve with age.
the pattern of movement.
Fibonacci's Concept
6mm Anti Slip Rubber
Specs
Li²
A joint collab of two Award winning designers
Jianming Li designed the Iga. Lisandro Serra Delmar — known as Li — took the design and built the Koga from it, in split toe.
Two names, one mark: Li².
Li, for the name on Jianming Li's door. Li, for the name this brand's founder answers to.
Jianming Li trained as a bespoke shoemaker and fashion designer in China, now based in New York. He has worked with Rick Owens, and holds a Global Footwear Awards win Boots 2024. This is Gaucho Ninja's first collaboration with an outside designer.
Styling
Wear the Iga and the Koga with:
Iga — How to wear it
The everyday sneaker holds its place under most things. Charcoal Ninja Black takes tailored trousers and raw denim without asking permission. Chocolate Brown warms linen, oat and olive. Snow White reads clean against black. Low, wide, quiet — it sits below the outfit and lets the rest speak. Office to street to the school run, one shoe.
Koga — How to wear it
The split toe does the talking, so nothing else has to. Wear Koga where the shoe is meant to be seen — cropped trousers, a rolled hem, a bare ankle. Charcoal Ninja Black for the considered wardrobe; Chocolate Brown for softer, earth-toned layers; Snow White for contrast. The tabi is a statement made in leather, not in logos. Let the hem break just above it.
Iga & Koga the same shoe, two toes
Iga and Koga are built on the same barefoot last: the wide W+ toe box, zero drop, a thin flexible sole, full-grain calf leather, and the cemented low-profile build. Same three colourways — Charcoal Ninja Black, Snow White, Chocolate Brown. Same quiet mark at the quarter.
One difference. Iga closes the toe; Koga splits it. Iga is the everyday sneaker — worn without thinking, read as ordinary. Koga is the tabi — the big toe divided to work on its own, and a shoe meant to be seen.
Choose Iga to disappear into the outfit.
Choose Koga to lead with the foot.
Iga
Koga
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Proper care allows the leather — and the shoe — to improve with age.