March 27, 2020
Altan Bottier, of Paris, France, just recently decided to use the current state of the world to introduce something new on their Instagram page. One positive thing about facing adversity is it often causes one to question their direction, and see if they can either improve or offer something new/different as a way to ‘think outside the box.’ And so, like most retailers are facing at the moment with the decline in orders, it would […]
March 9, 2020
Patrick Frei, for me, is creating some of the most exciting, mind-bending and inspirational footwear of today’s offering in the industry. I have been meaning to write about Patrick’s back story for about 3 years now and have been failing him for not doing so. It’s just that it is a history that could be written as a short novel and rarely do I have 4 spare hours to write blog posts these days. I […]
February 28, 2020
Our 2nd showcase is none other than my good friend, Norman Vilalta, one of the shoemakers I most respect in this industry. Norman is one of the only brands that has been with us for each year of the event and is always a favorite at the show, which comes as no surprise being that Norman always has new things on offer, great ideas and shoes that no one else does! Norman will surely have […]
February 24, 2020
Russian shoemaker Atelier Zakarian is creating some very unique designs. His entry to last years World Championship of Bespoke Shoemaking was one of the more impressive shoes among the sort. And now discovering this chukka, and seeing that he is pushing himself to be better, now I am really looking forward to seeing what he sends in this year. This is easily one of the most elegant and coolest chukka style boots I have ever […]
February 3, 2020
Atelier Dutranchet has recently made several pairs of their version of a double strap monk, one in black and one in brown. They are not the first to markrt to make this pattern but I like their version more than any other that I have seen. In reality, I didnt actually like this model until now. There are several details on their version that set the model apart. Lets look at them. 1. Notice that […]
December 30, 2019
My good friend Hugo Jacomet of Parisian Gentleman and Sartorial Talks was kind enough to send me one of his new books, Souliers, an ode to some of the finest shoemakers around. It’s a beautiful book that I highly recommend to any shoe enthusiast and especially if you own a menswear store. It’s a great table piece that all will enjoy reading, if not simply seeing the beautiful photography and great shoes shown! Sartorial […]
December 23, 2019
Kirby Allison of the Hanger Project has recently made a very interesting educational documentary on the famous John Lobb St. James of London, one of the world’s most renowned Bespoke shoemakers. I can tell you that this is something that few people get access to they are notorious for being quite private with regards to their company and what goes on behind closed doors. But Kirby managed to get access to all of it! […]
August 15, 2019
Bespoke shoemaker, TYE Shoemaker, out of Japan has been making some very very interesting shoes since coming to light a few years back, thanks to Instagram. The latest are these very intriguing and unique blue suede Crocodile Norwegian welt derbies with a commando gum sole and a bamboo pattern. Damn, that’s a lot going on. Not to mention the braided trimming, just a little touch of detail that TYE likes to commonly through in there. […]
August 8, 2019
Following yesterday’s roast of Berluti’s RTW atrocities, is the upside post about their Bespoke Program and the amazingness that comes out of that. I recently saw this photo on the Instagram account of @sole_preacher and was immediately impressed with all that was going on. Now, don’t get me wrong. This is not a ‘normal’ shoe. This, for me, is not necessarily a wearable shoe either (i.e. I would not wear it) but the detail, making, […]
July 31, 2019
It’s nice to see when inspiration has been used to create something of passion. This style of loafer I have only ever seen once in my life and it was originally created by Magnanni and I wrote about it HERE. It would appear that Vietnamese Shoemaker Thanh Le saw this too and decided to make him and his lady a pair, which I find quite romantic! And I like what he did with it, fading […]
