Mr Hare

Mr Hare was a British footwear brand established by Marc Hare in 2008. The label grew from its founder's dissatisfaction with the men's shoes available to him and developed a design approach centered on refined, fashion-conscious footwear with distinctive details. Hare reportedly conceived the idea while visiting a roadside tapas bar in Spain's Sierra Nevada Mountains on 23 July 2008, after noticing an older man's shoes and imagining how they might be improved. The first Mr Hare design reached the sales floor at London's Dover Street Market 360 days later. The brand initially built its reputation through selective wholesale distribution rather than a large retail network. Its stockists included influential luxury and fashion retailers such as Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty, Dover Street Market, Colette, Matches Fashion and Mr Porter. This distribution helped place the label within the contemporary British and international menswear conversation. In 2012, The Guardian described Mr Hare as quietly becoming one of the important names in British menswear, reflecting the brand's visibility among fashion editors, specialist retailers and high-profile customers. Mr Hare opened its first branded shop in London's Mayfair in September 2012. The store followed the success of the label's wholesale business and was later joined by a Notting Hill location. These shops provided a direct retail setting for the brand's footwear and reinforced its association with London's premium menswear and design districts. The label's reported fans included actors Robert Downey Jr., Javier Bardem and Tom Hardy, boxer Amir Khan, editor Jefferson Hack, musician ASAP Rocky and entertainer Tinie Tempah; these associations contributed to its cultural profile but do not by themselves establish formal endorsement relationships. The product offer focused primarily on men's shoes and boots. Mr Hare's designs combined classic footwear forms with unusual materials, graphic treatments and modern hardware. The brand also used collaborations to extend its design language. In August 2011, it worked with Topman on a ten-style shoe collection. That year it collaborated with jewellery designer Bunney on a limited-edition shoehorn made using garnet and black spinel. For Hardy Amies's autumn/winter 2012 collection, Mr Hare produced shoes and boots featuring laser-etched leather and metal toe caps. Despite its retail presence and recognition among fashion consumers, the business ceased trading in October 2016. Its Mayfair and Notting Hill stores closed at the same time. No subsequent relaunch, acquisition or successor ownership is established by the supplied reference material, so Mr Hare is treated as a defunct brand. Its documented significance lies in its contribution to modern British men's footwear, its mix of classic construction and expressive detailing, and its position between independent design label, luxury retailer and contemporary menswear culture.

Mr Hare was founded in Britain by Marc Hare in 2008 after he concluded that the men's footwear available to him did not adequately combine the qualities he wanted. The origin story places the initial idea at a roadside tapas bar in Spain's Sierra Nevada Mountains on 23 July 2008. Hare noticed an older man's shoes and began considering how their shape and appearance could be improved with a few changes. The first Mr Hare shoe was developed over the following year and reached the shop floor at Dover Street Market in London 360 days after the original idea. The brand's early growth came through specialist and luxury retail distribution. Rather than relying solely on its own stores, Mr Hare secured placements with prominent retailers including Harrods, Selfridges, Liberty, Dover Street Market, Colette, Matches Fashion and Mr Porter. This network positioned the label within premium British and international menswear. In 2011, the brand broadened its profile through a ten-style collaboration with Topman. It also worked with jewellery designer Bunney on a limited-edition shoehorn made from garnet and black spinel. Mr Hare opened its first standalone store in Mayfair in September 2012. The opening followed the brand's wholesale success and gave it a permanent presence in one of London's best-known luxury retail districts. The label later operated a second London store in Notting Hill. Its footwear was associated with classic men's shoe categories but was distinguished by fashion-led details, including decorative leather treatments and metal elements. For Hardy Amies's autumn/winter 2012 collection, Mr Hare created shoes and boots with laser-etched leather and metal toe caps, linking the footwear label to the Savile Row couturier's collection. Contemporary reporting and the brand's retail network gave Mr Hare a notable profile in British menswear. The Guardian wrote in 2012 that the company was becoming one of the important names in British menswear. Reported fans included Robert Downey Jr., Javier Bardem, Tom Hardy, Amir Khan, Jefferson Hack, ASAP Rocky and Tinie Tempah. These names indicate the brand's reach among entertainment, fashion and sports figures, although the supplied material does not document formal ambassadorial agreements. Mr Hare ceased trading in October 2016. Its Mayfair and Notting Hill stores closed, ending the documented operating history of the brand. The available reference material does not identify a parent company, acquisition, relaunch or continuing owner. Mr Hare is therefore recorded as a defunct independent British footwear brand whose history spans design-led men's shoes, selective luxury distribution, London retailing and collaborations across fashion and jewellery.

1. 2016Brand ceases trading

   Mr Hare stops trading in October and closes its Mayfair and Notting Hill stores.

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2. 2012Mayfair store opens

   The brand opens its first store in Mayfair, London, in September.

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3. 2012Hardy Amies collaboration

   Mr Hare produces shoes and boots for Hardy Amies's autumn/winter collection, using laser-etched leather and metal toe caps.

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4. 2011Topman footwear collaboration

   Mr Hare collaborates with Topman on a ten-style shoe collection.

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5. 2011Bunney accessories collaboration

   Mr Hare works with jewellery designer Bunney on a limited-edition shoehorn using garnet and black spinel.

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6. 2009First design reaches Dover Street Market

   The first Mr Hare creation reaches the shop floor at Dover Street Market in London 360 days after the initial concept.

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7. 2008Mr Hare is founded

   Marc Hare establishes the British footwear brand after developing the concept for improved men's shoes.

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Independent British luxury and contemporary menswear footwear, combining traditional shoe silhouettes with graphic decoration, unusual materials and fashion-oriented collaborations.

• Mr Hare men's footwearLuxury men's footwear2008

  The core Mr Hare offer consisted of men's shoes designed around established dress and fashion footwear forms. The brand differentiated these products through expressive detailing, modern proportions, leather treatments and selected hardware, maintaining a relationship with traditional British menswear while presenting the shoes as contemporary fashion objects.

• Mr Hare bootsMen's boots2012

  Mr Hare produced men's boots alongside its shoe collections. The documented Hardy Amies autumn/winter 2012 collaboration included boots with laser-etched leather and metal toe caps, illustrating the label's preference for decorative surface work and distinctive construction details.

• Topman x Mr Hare shoe collectionCollaborative footwear2011

  This 2011 collaboration with Topman comprised ten shoe styles. It extended Mr Hare's design language into a partnership with a broader fashion retailer and represented one of the brand's clearest documented collection-level collaborations.

• Bunney x Mr Hare shoehornFootwear accessory2011

  Created with jewellery designer Bunney in 2011, this limited-edition shoehorn used garnet and black spinel. It expanded the collaboration beyond footwear while retaining a connection to luxury shoe care and dressing.

• 2016Cease trading and close storesOther

  Mr Hare ended its operations after a period of wholesale distribution, collaborations and London retail activity.

  What changed. The brand ceased trading in October 2016 and closed its Mayfair and Notting Hill stores.

  Aftermath. Mr Hare became a defunct footwear brand. No successor business or relaunch is identified in the supplied reference material.

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• 2012Move from wholesale distribution into standalone retailStrategy

  After building recognition through retailers such as Harrods and Selfridges, Mr Hare established its own physical retail presence.

  What changed. The brand opened its first store in Mayfair in September 2012 and subsequently operated a Notting Hill store.

  Aftermath. The move gave Mr Hare a direct London retail channel, but both documented stores ultimately closed when the brand ceased trading in October 2016.

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• 2016Mr Hare ceases trading and closes London stores

  Mr Hare ceased trading in October 2016, with its Mayfair and Notting Hill stores closing as part of the shutdown.

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• 2012Mr Hare launches its first Mayfair store

  The British footwear brand opened its first branded store in Mayfair in September 2012 after gaining distribution through retailers including Harrods and Selfridges.

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1. Mr Hare