Daring soles
Bespoke shoemaking for men is more than a business - it's an art that offers customers the very best and the most exclusive, writes Vivian Chen
Looking for a pair of Oxfords to match the colour of your Ferrari, or perhaps boots with details inspired by the dashboard of your private jet? Consider it done. Luxury artisanal shoemakers are amping up their game in the bespoke department to satisfy your wildest demands. In light of the promising global sales in menswear, luxury fashion brands have been jumping on the bandwagon of personalisation from suits to accessories, either through exclusive VIP programmes or innovative retail concepts - cue Tod's, Gucci, Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton. The trend has also extended the spotlight to artisanal shoemakers that are otherwise best-kept-secrets of modern dappers in the know.
The history of such artisanal shoemakers can be traced back to almost a century ago - some are still family-owned and many of their craftsmen have worked for more than two decades in the trade. French shoemaker J.M Weston, which counts former French president Nicolas Sarkozy as a fan, for example, started its operation in 1891, while its British counterpart Edward Green was founded in 1890. Both Spanish shoemaker Magnanni and Italian shoemaker Bontoni - based in the Marche region - are still operated by the third generation of their founding families.
Their know-how, nurtured and passed on through time, has continued the legacy of classic shoemaking, especially showcased in the bespoke and made-to-measure department.
When we met Magnanni's co-owner Miguel Blanco earlier this year during his customised trunk show at Lane Crawford at IFC Mall, the apron-clad man looked more of an artisan than an entrepreneur.
Although Blanco oversees the company's design and operation with his brothers, he is still hands-on with production and quality control. Blanco's expertise is the colour paint finish - a delicate craft that can take four hours just to get the right shade.
The technique, Blanco says, isn't the most difficult part. "[Trainee artisans] have to work on the same bench with the veterans and only through time, [do] they get the house aesthetics. The differences are so subtle that they are only visible to a trained eye."
These artisans practise near-extinct manual skills that can only be learned through experience and time. Among the 400 artisans working at Magnanni's atelier in Spain, only about 25 of them work on hand colouring finish.
Newcomers including Italian cobbler A. Testoni, launched in the 1930s, and French label Corthay, which started its bespoke workshop at Paris' Place Vendôme in 1990, also have dedicated artisans who have been working for more than 20 years.
"There are people who have been working for us for more than 25 years. It takes about 15 to 20 years to train an artisan to perfectly carry out all the steps in constructing an A. Testoni shoe," says CEO Bruno Fantechi.