Art is Long, Life is Short
Ars longa, vita brevis is a Latin translation of a Greek aphorism. The Latin quote is often translated in English as "Art is long, life is short."
Hippocrates, a physician made this reference in the opening of a medical text. However, the true meaning of the phrase can be interpreted more simply as "art or artistry can be more long lasting than the lifetime of the artist."
Fortress of Inca has set out to embody this aphorism in what we do. We believe that producing high quality shoes that are timeless in that they care less about the immediacy of fashion and more about surviving for a significant amount of time is a worthwhile goal. Many shoe brands and shoe consumers are focused on trends. We feel that although trends are sometimes the result of a fortunate combination of joining forces it is more important to make shoes, boots and accessories from premium leathers and natural materials that might be able to outlast our own lifetimes or at least last multiple fashion or trend lifetimes.
Imagine a pair of shoes, well made by hand in Peru by a skilled, fairly paid artisan being worn by you for decades not years. Ars longa vita brevis indeed. To see the results of our efforts you can visit our shop.