Bespoke shoemakers benefit from trend for truly exclusive products
\Bespoke shoemakers are benefiting from a trend towards truly exclusive products for those who can afford to foot the bill, writes Abid Rahman
Men looking for luxury goods that are truly exclusive and personalised, and out of reach of most customers, are increasingly turning to bespoke services.
Benefiting most from this shift are tailoring and suiting, with Savile Row enjoying greater prominence than ever, and Italian tailors from Milan to Naples becoming the first choice of discerning buyers.
Shoemakers are also pushing their bespoke services and one of the leaders is French brand Berluti. While its ready-to-wear shoes are among the most expensive and exclusive handmade men's shoes available, its bespoke service is for the elite only.
Berluti is not willing to divulge its prices. As with any bespoke product, this depends greatly on materials and design. However, prices are much higher than the HK$10,000 or more that Berluti charges for its ready-to-wear shoes.
If you look after the shoes, there is no reason why they won’t last a long time
These customers want something different and, most importantly, want some input into how the shoes are made, says Berluti master shoemaker Jean-Michel Casalonga. "I can't tell you exactly how many customers we have, or how many shoes we make, but it's not more than a couple of hundred," says Casalonga.