At Crown Northampton, Scottish red deer suede is one of the most luxurious leathers we use on our handmade sneakers. It has a rich, soft handle, with a nap that catches the light as you move, yet the hide itself has a tight fibre structure that stands up well to regular wear. We are sharing a little more about it this week because we have added two new colours, developed for us, to our deer suede collection.
Scotland and Northampton shoemaking: an older connection than you might expect
Red deer are native to Scotland, and one of the UK’s original wild mammals. Deer hide has been used in footwear for centuries, longer than most people realise. In early Celtic communities, it was valued for its strength, flexibility, and comfort underfoot, well-suited to wet ground and long days outside. That heritage is part of why red deer suede can feel so refined, yet wear with real resilience.
Early ghillie brogues, or 'pampooties' - raw hide shoes traditionally made from fresh red deer hides.
The Scottish link to us, as shoemakers in Northampton, is in design as well as leather. Brogue dress shoes are part of Northampton’s visual language, but the idea began in Scotland, where perforations were a practical detail to help water drain, not a decorative flourish.
By the 1800s, Northampton factories were working with a broader palette of leather, moving towards higher quality, more exotic, and genuinely luxury materials, including deer, for footwear that needed to be durable, soft, and distinctive. It is a privilege for us to continue that tradition in our own work, using deer suede that is sourced, tanned, and finished in Scotland.
A visit to Barrhead Tannery
We took a trip up to the tannery in Barrhead, Scotland, to see the process first hand. We wanted to understand what is involved at each stage, from grading the raw skins, through tanning and finishing, to the final handle. We were also lucky enough to work with the team there on two new colours of our very own, which took time to get right.
Why it is rare in footwear
Scottish red deer suede leather is a rare find in modern mass-produced footwear, particularly when you are making suede for sneakers in small runs and holding the material to a high grade. Luckily, we do not make anything mass produced. The scarcity comes down to a few simple factors.
Managed populations
Wild red deer numbers are carefully controlled to protect the landscape and maintain ecological balance. Regulated culling helps prevent overgrazing and damage to the moorlands, which naturally limits the supply of hides.
High grading
Only a portion of skins are suitable for premium suede before the tanning even begins. The raw material has to be right.
Skilled selection and cutting
Deer is not an easy skin to work with. The size, natural marking, and variation across the hide require an experienced clicker’s eye to place every pattern piece well, so the finished pair looks balanced.
The new colours
Every stitch and every material choice on our sneakers has a reason behind it, so when we have the chance to commission our own colour, the same approach applies. We wanted two shades with real heritage behind them, and a natural relationship to what we do here in the UK capital of shoemaking.
British Racing Green
Made famous in the early days of motor racing, the colour was originally chosen in homage to Ireland, where the British team raced in 1903. It went on to be adopted by marques such as Aston Martin, Bentley, and Jaguar. On suede, it has real depth, dark in the shade, rich in the light, and it feels like a colour our team should be working with.
Merlot
A dark red, maroon tone with a clear local link. It draws on Northamptonshire’s sporting heritage, particularly the Northamptonshire County Cricket Club, and you will also find it reflected in the county flag, alongside details that nod to the area’s leather and footwear history. We had to choose it.
Both tones are easy to wear, and they sit naturally alongside navy, grey, cream, beige, sky blue, denim, and black. British Racing Green reads calm and understated at a distance, then shows its depth up close as the suede catches the light. Merlot leans into the current taste for deeper, moodier, slightly vampy shades that add richness without shouting.
Keep everything else simple and let the colour do the work, or use it for contrast. Either way, we would love to see how you style your made to order pair.
Looking after Scottish red deer suede
One of the main reasons we chose Scottish red deer suede is its durability. Like good calf, it has a dense, resilient fibre structure that stands up well to wear. It means sneakers crafted from it can last for many years, developing their own character as they go. Our vegetable and oak bark tanned linings and structure are chosen to support the upper as it settles.
Care is simple. A brush with a suede brush when the sneakers are dry and a shoe tree to draw out moisture is all you will need. Do not be afraid to treat them as you would leather, they are made to be worn.
With thanks
Thank you to the team in Barrhead for producing such a special material, and to our workshop team in Northampton for matching the sneaker to it with the skill it demands.
