Luxury shoes and craftsmanship

Most luxury houses manufacture their shoes in Italy, in workshops that have been around for generations. The most famous ones are located near Milan or in Veneto. These companies sometimes employ up to 300 people, dedicated to crafting shoes straight from the mind of Karl Lagerfeld, to name just one, or to producing the iconic models of these brands that make us dream. Each artisan is highly skilled and trained to meet the exacting standards of the house they work for. They are sometimes even trained "from school" thanks to partnerships that allow the recruitment of these rare gems right after graduation.

Each pair of luxury shoes, from the great French or Italian houses, is the culmination of an artisanal process involving 180 incompressible steps: from the selection of the leathers to the preparation of each piece, to the assembly, stitching of the finishes, etc. The shoe becomes a work of art in itself. Artisans are increasingly working on several stages of the chain, which enhances their contribution and their attachment to their craft and their house. Each step is subject to precise quality control. This cannot be neglected because the selling price of the shoe implies a guarantee of perfection and durability, and every actor in the chain is aware of this.

The art of crafting a pair of shoes comes from master shoemakers: techniques are ancestral and passed down from master to apprentice. "Lasts" are still used, on which the envisioned shoes are first hand-drawn, then gradually nailed as they progress. The initial pattern making is also done by hand. Nails are still used in shoe construction. "Nailing hammers" are also used, which are the pride of each artisan, as the finest ones are passed down from their masters or crafted in artisanal workshops. The main assembly steps have not changed for centuries. However, many preparation and control steps have been automated and facilitated through the use of technology. Ancestral techniques are thus preserved but accelerated in the design or sizing stages, which are now done using 3D modeling. Cutting is also delegated to machines, increasing its precision and speed, as are leather resistance tests... All these steps save precious time for the person who will assemble the pair until its finishing and departure from the workshop, guaranteeing its perfection.

In conclusion, the shoemakers of yesteryear can be proud of the savoir-faire that has been passed down from generation to generation. It has been scrupulously respected in the gestures and the demanding nature of the processes. A discerning eye will recognize the chosen materials, the precision of the stitching, the finishes, and the perfect craftsmanship. The major evolution has been in technology, which has been put at the service of ancestral savoir-faire, facilitating and accelerating all time-consuming preparation steps, while providing comfort and freedom in design thanks to computerized tools: 3D, sizing, cutting... Today's artisan thus bridges two eras, and it is he who we find in Instagram REELS selfies, and for that alone, we thank him for having taken the leap! In the meantime, to find these little gems born from centuries of fashion and history, we can see what MyPrettyFrenchShoes offers us here!