Portuguese sneaker brand JAK has officially arrived in the UK, launching exclusively at Selfridges, London. Founded in Lisbon in 2014 by Isabel Henriques da Silva and José Maria Reffoios, the brand is bringing its signature blend of refined minimalism, high-quality materials, and sustainable production to one of the most discerning retail audiences in the world.
JAK’s understated yet luxurious sneakers are now available at Selfridges’ Mens Footwear Department on the first floor, as well as online through the brand’s UK website. For Henriques da Silva, Co-Founder and Creative Director, the launch marks a significant moment in the brand’s journey. “We already have many customers from the UK who are used to buying directly online,” she said. “But there are still many people who highly value the in-store experience. Trying on and touching the products continues to be an important part of the journey for most consumers, and Selfridges will be the right partner to deliver that excellence.”
JAK began as a counterpoint to the traditional seasonal fashion calendar. Henriques da Silva’s first brand, Officina Lisboa, followed a conventional retail model, producing trend-driven collections for men and women. “As the years went by, we began to realise that this formula was not sustainable—neither for the business nor for the way we wanted the brand to grow,” she explained. The shift away from seasonal trends and end-of-season markdowns was both a creative and ethical decision. “That’s how JAK was born. At its core, it was an attempt to go against the traditional fashion brand model.”
Instead of fast-changing trends, JAK focuses on longevity—products that retain their relevance and utility over time. “We wanted to create high-quality products that would be a safe purchase for our customers,” Henriques da Silva said. “So that when they bought a pair of JAK sneakers, they’d know that even after one year or five years, they could still wear them—or return to JAK and buy the same ones again.”
The design process reflects this ethos of thoughtful simplicity. “Our creative process always begins as a combination of what we feel is missing from the brand and the feedback we receive from our customers,” she explained. Prototypes are then developed through close collaboration with a factory the founders have worked with for over a decade, refining each design until it meets their exacting standards.
Minimalism, for Henriques da Silva, is not just a stylistic choice but a design philosophy. “To me, minimalist design is always the safest, most timeless, and most elegant choice. As a brand, that’s the message we want to convey—offering timeless, unisex pieces that are a safe investment.”
This commitment to quality is deeply rooted in Portuguese craftsmanship. “In Portugal, there is a long-standing tradition of shoemaking,” she said. “We’ve been working with the same factory since day one. These are family-run businesses with generations of expertise, and we are in constant contact with them, visiting frequently to monitor production or develop new products.”
JAK also stands out for its innovative material use. While the brand primarily uses responsibly sourced leather from Portugal and Italy, it also offers vegan options such as AppleSkin™, made from apple waste, and OnSteam® Microfibre, a high-performance, Oeko-Tex® certified lining material from Spain. “Part of our brand philosophy is to always be on the lookout for new technologies and innovative materials,” Henriques da Silva said.
For Reffoios, JAK’s Co-Founder and Managing Partner, the brand’s evolution has always been rooted in a desire to build something lasting and meaningful. With a background in software, advertising, and digital marketing, he was drawn to the footwear industry for its tangible connection to consumers. “Shoes are incredible pieces of engineering,” he said. “Seeing first-hand feedback from customers wearing your product is incredibly satisfying and rewarding. It also gives me a certain sense of purpose to solve some of the problems in the sector—and Portugal is the perfect place to be when it comes to footwear.”
JAK’s UK debut at Selfridges also reflects the brand’s growing global footprint and long-term vision. “It’s a milestone,” Reffoios said. “It means we’ve got the right structure and people in place to deliver sales in a new channel, and it can become a catalyst for other key customers to join JAK.”
Selfridges was a natural choice for the brand’s first UK retail partner. “Besides being an iconic and historic store, Selfridges is a reference for a customer-centric approach, attention to detail, and carefully curated collections,” Reffoios said. “They have pioneered innovation in fashion retail since their foundation in the early 20th century. For those reasons, they were an obvious first choice for this new phase at JAK.”
Despite the brand’s expansion, staying true to JAK’s founding values remains a top priority. “We firmly believe that core values and brand culture come before anything,” said Reffoios. “The whole sustainability narrative must go beyond product and materials. We strive to have a company that is a healthy and happy workplace, where people are fairly treated, and that those values carry down the supply chain.”
Transparency is central to that mission. “We’re also looking to put in place several transparency initiatives in the future, from certification to traceability,” Reffoios added. “Measurable, tangible and verifiable data beat elegant copywriting when it comes to preventing greenwashing.”
After ten years of working together, the partnership between the co-founders continues to drive JAK forward. “We work well together and complement each other,” said Reffoios. “Isabel obviously leads the design, while I’m more focused on operations, but we both discuss and debate all areas of the company on a daily basis. We’ve been incredibly resilient as a team. Isabel has an unwavering confidence in our future ability to stay relevant in the very competitive and often abstract world of fashion.”
With its exclusive Selfridges launch, JAK is poised to offer UK shoppers a new take on premium footwear—one that is thoughtful, quietly confident, and built to last. In a world increasingly dominated by fast consumption, JAK is carving out space for a slower, more considered kind of luxury.
