Based in Munich’s Nymphenburg Castle Park the 6th generation family run german cult brand thies 1856 ® and its beloved iconic Squirrel™ represent an original high quality, eco, fair, innovative approach without compromise.

Nowadays, husband and wife team Carmen & Sebastian Thies are running the traditional brand, leading a diverse, international team while taking the company to the future and maybe into the 7th generation as they have 2 sons who love shoes as much as they do 😉

Serving women, men and kids since generations for almost 2 centuries the thies 1856 ® team follows a nature and environment conscious lifestyle as inspiration for the collections.

thies 1856 ® pays particular attention to different material concepts like its own „common sense design strategy“ developed by Carmen & Seb as well as fair, local production.

Certified Materials used are from recycled cork, palm, organic cotton, algae, organic mountain wool, post-consumer PET bottles, non-food upcycled corn, bamboo, recycled rubber, natural rubber, biodegradable & plantbased plastics, RWS ® certfied cruelty free sheepskin, recycled EVA, uplcycled garments, recycled denim, upcycled fruits, mushrooms & mycelium, vintage leathers and rugs, ceramic fibers, organic vegan teddy fur, glass, and many more…

Many styles are 100% vegan [ Peta ® approved ]

There is also the higly innovative t1856 ® line which shows and develops groundbreaking avantgardistic slippers and disruptive designs. Furthermore we run the scientific footwear brand nat-2™.

HISTORY

thies ® | German shoemakers in the 6th generation since 1856

1856 the company „Pegauer Filzwaarenfabrik Ferdinand Fischer“ was founded with offices/factories in Germany’s region “Sachsen” by Ferdinand Fischer (3rd gen. Master of Hat-Manufacturing by then) born in 1831.

Starting with the production of felt material the factory quickly turned into a vibrant and creative shoe manufacturer. One reason was a highly innovative patent for a self developed felt press machine which was the base for becoming one of Germany’s first big industrial companies with more than 1.200 people around the turn of the century and selling up to 10K pairs to the United States of Amercia in the late 90ies of the 20th century.

1940ies during WWII the company is lost without any remuneration to the National Socialists because of its size and own railroad connection.

1945 the company is lost without any remuneration to the Eastern-German / socialist government after world war II.

1947 new start by Ingeborg Thies a born Fischer later joined by her husband Walter Thies. She was one of the first leading female entrepreneurs in Germany and gained recognition for bringing up the company with a total of 3 factories (Schneverdingen, Uelzen, Munster). One of the factories in Schneverdingen still serves as logistic headquarter today.

1949 the company “Ferdinand Fischer KG” is re-launched in Schneverdingen, Northern Germany by Horst Fischer with later 3 factories in Schneverdingen.

1949 the company “Thies-Fischer KG” is founded.

1984 the company “K & T Handels- und Unternehmensberatungs-GmbH” is founded in the fifth generation after Ferdinand Fischer by Ulrike Kotjan and Ursula & Matthias Thies in Munich.

2002 the 6th generation with Sebastian Thies joins the company in Munich later followed by his fashion designer and tailor wife Carmen.

2006 family Thies-Fischer is celebrating 150 years developing and supplying shoes, materials and accessoires.

2007 nat-2™ project is started as a highly innvoative sidekick to thies 1856 ®.

2009 coilex.com the family own sustainable concept store is launched.

2016 new makeover and re-imagined logo icon of the thies 1856 ® brand

2026 we are celebrating our 170th birthday. Cheers!

Since 2007 we are also running our highly innovative and scientific brand nat-2™

The thies 1856 ® / nat-2™ Design Team and Thies Family have been honoured with various awards and international Design Prizes.

Here are some references:

AWARDS

MUSEUM / EXHIBITIONS

PRESS / PUBLICATIONS

COLAB PARTNERS

Gallery of Factory Pegauer Filzwaarenfabrik Ferdinand Fischer

Gallery of Extracts from the Company Archive

Gallery of Thies-Fischer KG Factories in Schneverdingen

Gallery of Vintage thies ® Collections / Catalogs

Gallery of Daily Life in the past

Gallery of our Headquarter which is located in the beautiful Kapuzinerhölzl which is part of the Nymphenburg Castle’s Park in Munich next to the botanical gardens. Come visit the Squirrels ™ !

thies 1856 ® and its projects like nat-2™ are among the favorites of international opinion leaders when it comes to innovative and timeless design. Since the very beginning we have been featured in re-known international fashion publications | blogs | newspapers | TV | Radio | Video Games | Calendars … below just some references:

countries: since the late 20th century we are delivering our products to the USA / Canada, whole EU, Asia (Japan, South Korea, Macao, Hongkong, China, Taiwan…), UAE, Kuwait, Quatar, Eastern Europe, Argentina, Norway, Switzerland and even exotic places like the Maledives, Bermudas, etc.

TV | Radio: CNN | Thompson Reuters | MTV | PULS | JOIZ | RTL | Pro7 | Galileo | BR | MDR | NDR CCTV | rbb | Sneakertube | Puls 4 | ARD | ZDF | ATV | Fm4 | NRJ | Motor Fm | Flux FM | Jam FM | Fritz | ego FM | Antenne Bayern | 1 Live | Bayern 3 | NDR | HR | Shoetube | BBC | RTL 2 | GNTM | SWR | CGTN | WDR Cosmo | DPA | AP | Gala TV | …

opinion Leaders: His Royal Highness King Charles III (formerly aka. Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Merioneth, Baron of Renfrew, Baron Greenwich, Lord of the Isles and Great Steward of Scotland, KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, CC, PC, ADC )

calendars: Workman 365 Days of Shoes 2010 x 2016 x 2018 x 2020 x 2021 x 2022 x 2023 x 2024 x 2025 …