--- description: Find out why Rothy’s Driving Loafer is one of the best inventions of 2021 title: Rothy’s Driving Loafer: The 100 Best Inventions of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38d74070bd685792/698a1e9e09208ff334418721/best-inventions-2021-Rothys-Mens-Driving-Loafer-09.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 10, 2021 # A Reimagined Classic Rothy’s Driving Loafer by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  clayton cotterell After making a name for itself creating simple yet elegant sustainable women’s footwear that you’ve almost definitely seen all over Instagram, San Francisco–based fashion startup Rothy’s dipped a toe into the men’s market this year with its [driving loafer](https://rothys.com/collections/driving-loafer-styles "undefined"), a classic silhouette made from natural and recycled materials. It’s an ideal shoe for the late-pandemic era, as the world’s professional class seeks out clothing that’s not too schlubby but not too flashy. Rothy’s co-founder and president Roth Martin sees the loafer—made using a high-tech knitting process that dramatically reduces waste—as a major technological evolution in a much-loved but little-changed design. “Here’s a silhouette that’s steeped in history, a classic style, yet no one’s done anything with it in years,” he says. _—Alex Fitzpatrick_ **Buy Now:** [Rothy’s Driving Loafer](https://rothys.com/collections/driving-loafer-styles "undefined") Rothy’s Driving Loafer: The 100 Best Inventions of 2021 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113121/rothys-driving-loafer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113121/rothys-driving-loafer/"},"headline":"A Reimagined Classic","datePublished":"2021-11-10T11:11:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:55:52.462Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113121/rothys-driving-loafer/","keywords":["list","franchise","best inventions","Best Inventions 2021"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38d74070bd685792/698a1e9e09208ff334418721/best-inventions-2021-Rothys-Mens-Driving-Loafer-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt38d74070bd685792/698a1e9e09208ff334418721/best-inventions-2021-Rothys-Mens-Driving-Loafer-09.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113121/rothys-driving-loafer/","name":"A Reimagined Classic"}}]}] ```