Boot Black is a new fine shoe care brand from The Colombus Co. Ltd Japan, showing for the first time at Pitti. The range looked fairly extensive and it was a nice touch to have a guy on hand putting products to the test for willing visitors. The results looked impressive.
A real treat at Pitti was the opportunity to watch artisans at work. Santoni had the largest stand of all the shoe manufacturers, in fact it had it’s own separate building! Inside was a micro production line with craftsmen and women going about their business seemingly oblivious to all of the visitors watching them at work. It’s an amazing thing to watch, people so skilled they could likely do it blindfolded, producing works of art purely by hand. We’ll let the pictures do the talking…
Quoddy is an American moccasin company steeped in tradition and growing in popularity. All shoes are hand made in Maine the same way they were 100 years ago. They make their shoes to order for individuals and retailers alike so you see some great custom models appearing on independent retailers websites. President John Andreliunas was on hand to show us around and my personal favourite from the stand was the Dark Olive Maliseet Oxford with Gum Sole pictured below.
Another great British brand founded in 1879 in Northampton, Crockett & Jones continue to make some of the finest shoes available anywhere. Apparently C&J is now the only English shoemaker still owned by the original family, that’s great but most pleasing is their unwavering commitment to quality resulting in beautifully made shoes. A highlight was the Islay Country Boot which you can see on the far left in the penultimate picture below.
LCA make a very nice collection of shoe care accessories and also some rather handsome shoes though mainly for the Japanese market. Everything from creams and polishes to shine kits, aprons and shoe trees, all beautifully made.
SWIMS is a young brand that brought us the ‘Modern Galosh”. They have now expanded to include a range of waterproof/resistant shoes and also clothing. Founder/Creative Director Johan Ringdal took the time to show us around the collection. As the owner of a pair of SWIMS galoshes I can attest to the benefit of being able to shield your treasured EG’s or Lobb’s from a sudden downpour!
The hiking boot has made it’s way into the fashion mainstream and seems to have polarised opinion. Personally I approve but there is a time and place. What is not in question is that Italian brand Diemme make one of the most stylish examples you are likely to find.
French brand Paraboot have been making shoes for nearly 100 years. All shoes are hand cut and sewn and designed to be strong and durable. They were showing a very fine country boot on their stand but I was kindly asked not to take a close up picture as it was “a bit special” the truth is I’d already taken it! I’ll keep it to myself for now though.
I was lucky enough to grab a chat with the charming and dapper Ryan Keenan whilst founder Yuki Matsuda was busy obliging requests for photographs! Ryan has been at Yuketen for 10 years and is a fountain of knowledge about the entire industry as well as his own brand. It was impressive to see the entire range together, apart from online I’d only seen models here and there at places like ‘Present’ in London. Common sightings are the ever popular Maine Guide Boots and Angler Mocs but the collection is really quite diverse and even includes a Cap Toe Oxford.
Being London based It’s easy to keep fairly close tabs on the UK brands so Alden was one of the brands I most looked forward to seeing in Florence as they have limited availability on these shores and my visit to the Alden shop on Madison Avenue in New York last October seemed like a long time ago!
All the usual classics were present with some nice suede versions of the Indy boot and a very handsome suede saddle shoe in a variety of colour combinations. Over the coming weeks we’ll be keeping a keen eye out for the many made to order models that will spring up with regular Alden collaborators like J.Crew and Leather Soul etc.
Their reputation precedes them so it was a great pleasure to finally meet Tony Gaziano & Dean Girling at Pitti. G&G may be relatively young as a brand but this pair have a rich history in design and shoemaking.
Tony & Dean were debuting their ‘Deco’ range a sculpted collection inspired by the 1920’s with incredible attention to detail and finishing. The range will start at £1250 which includes lasted shoe trees and a handmade box.
The highlight for me was the impeccable Thorpe grain country boot (second last pic).
The 79th edition of the menswear trade show Pitti Uomo took place in Florence last week. Longwing was in attendance to pay particular attention to the shoes and have a sneak preview at what styles we can look forward to seeing this year. Many familiar brands were on show including; Edward Green, Crockett & Jones, Santoni, Gaziano & Girling, Yuketen, Trickers, Paraboot and Quoddy to name a few. We’ll have some more detailed posts on the way…
