The shoe,
from the inside.
Every part has a name.
A dress-casual chukka, drawn flat from the side the way it leaves our studio. The same vocabulary runs through every tech pack we write, which is why nothing is lost between a sketch here and a sample in Italy.
- 01Topline & collar
- 02Eyestay & facing
- 03Toe & vamp
- 04Quarter
- 05Welt & sole stitch
- 06Heel block
Five ways to join an upper to a sole.
The construction decides the price, the weight, the break-in and whether the shoe can ever be repaired. It is the first thing we settle on a new program, before a single material is chosen.
Goodyear welt
A welt is stitched to the upper and insole rib, then the outsole is stitched to the welt. The upper is never sewn to the sole, so the shoe can be resoled repeatedly.
- Dress and dress-casual
- Italy · Portugal
- The longest-lived construction
Blake
The outsole is stitched straight through upper, insole and sole in one pass. Fewer layers, so the shoe is lighter and closer to the foot, with a sleeker edge.
- Sleek dress
- Italy · Portugal · Asia
- Resoleable on a Blake machine
Blake-rapid
A Blake stitch holds the upper, then a second outsole is stitched to a midsole. Blake's slimness with more underfoot and easier resoling.
- Dress with a heavier sole
- Italy · Portugal
- The common compromise
Cemented
Upper and sole are bonded under heat and pressure. Precise, light, and the widest range of sole units and price points.
- Casual, sneakers, volume
- Portugal · Spain · Asia
- Not built to be resoled
Vulcanized
Raw rubber is cured onto the upper, fusing foxing tape and sole into one piece. The classic court and deck construction.
- Sneakers and casual
- Asia
- Cured, not glued
Fit is a shape, not a size.
The last is the wooden or plastic form a shoe is built around, and it decides almost everything about how the finished pair feels — instep height, toe spring, heel grip, the width across the joint. Two shoes on the same last in the same size fit the same. Two shoes on different lasts never will.
We develop and hold our own lasts, grade them across the size run and wear-test before a program is confirmed. Partners can build on ours or bring their own.
The upper is most of the shoe.
Leather sets the look, the break-in, the way a shoe ages and a large share of the cost. We buy from the tanneries that supply the names the category respects.
Calf
Box and aniline calf from the French and German houses for dress; museum and antiqued calf where a finish should have depth and movement rather than a flat color.
Vegetable-tanned
Tuscan veg-tan for anything meant to burnish and take a patina — the leathers that look better after a year than they did in the box.
Suede & waxed
English suedes and waxed flesh-outs for dress-casual and boots: fine-napped calf for dress, kudu and waxed commander where the shoe should look worn in.
Know what you want made?
Tell us the construction, the tier and the volume. If you are not sure which construction the shoe wants, that is the first thing we will tell you.