Novesta

Novesta was established in 1939 in Partizanske, in what was then Czechoslovakia, initially producing rubber-soled work boots and shoes for industrial workers, soldiers, and firefighters. In the 1960s the company introduced the Star Master, a canvas-upper sneaker built on a vulcanized rubber sole, originally designed as training footwear for the Czechoslovak army and as factory workwear; vulcanization bonds the sole and upper without stitching or glue seams that can fail. The Star Master remains Novesta's signature product and, per the brand, is still handmade by craftspeople in the same Slovak town where the company started. Accounts of the earliest founders vary slightly across sources but its Partizanske origin and 1939 founding date are consistently reported.