I was astonished by the processes of bespoke shoemaking and the craftsmanship; actually, when I get to explore it; since then my curiosity and admiration persuaded me to fall in love with the craft as the same as I got inspired by the bespoke tailoring.
In my previous article, I wrote about the processes of bespoke shoemaking and craftsmanship; you could read it here (Bespoke shoemaking) (Why should we misspend our hard-earned money on substandard shoes?) Thus in this article, I would like to share with you about the artisans who contribute a prominent part in many bespoke shoemaking ateliers like John Lobb (Est.1849), Edward Green (Est.1890), Gaziano& Girling (Est. 2006), Berluti (Est. 1895) and such.
Indeed, after taking the individual foot measurements of your foot on a piece of paper then it would be handed over to the Last Maker who makes the model of your foot from the raw piece of the wooden block, actually, back in the years the entire last would be carved by hand; but now they do with with the assist of machinery whereas yet they do some intricate part by hand with their traditional equipment which allows getting a beautiful profile.
Apparently, making the last is the first and crucial step in the process of bespoke shoemaking thus some ateliers would have their own workshop specifically for the last making and some would acquire from the professional last makers,
hence, the first fitting shoes are made in low-grade leather with wooden cork soles which they intended to cut and take measurements meticulously according to your foot movement and flexibility, thereafter, they modify the last according to the measurement by the processing of carving; then they finalise and move on to the next level.
Therefore, the shoe last has been sent to the Pattern Maker/ Closer who designs the upper portion according to the last measure and the style of the shoe that you commissioned whether it is lace-up shoes or loafers, the Pattern Maker/ Closer would begin to draw and create a paper pattern (significantly they use the paper tape to pasting on the last and draw the pattern).
However, the paper pattern is sent to the Clicker (the sound of the hand-knife blade rattling against the brass edge- binding used to protect the paper pattern which was overlaid onto the skin; that's why they named as a clicker) has the privilege to deal with the material (different types of hides) and cutting out the leather and interlining as specified by the paper pattern for the Closer/ Pattern Maker,
subsequently, the paper pattern and the leather were returned to the Closer/ Pattern Maker; thus the closer began to sew the upper together; then the last will be sent to the Rough Stuff Cutter who was exactly like the clicker but only meant to deal with the materials of the sloes and cutting out the soles for the shoemaker.
Eventually, those are all sent to the Shoemaker who stitches the upper and the sloes (insole, outsole) together; by the process of lasting (tightly pulling off the upper leather and then nailing on the last) and welting (a stripe of leather that is sewn around the circumference of the upper leather, this would assist in the process of constructing quality shoes and also it determines the longevity and durability of the shoes as well),
predominantly the bespoke shoes are hand welted whereas some ateliers would do the Goodyear welt as well (click here to know more about the types of welt) according to their client's requirements.