Time for the annual walkthrough of some new and / or interesting quality sneakers from a bunch of different brands. Most brands doing quality shoes nowadays offer sneakers of some kinds, and plenty others do ones with good materials and sometimes more proper constructions.
We now have the finalists who will compete at the Americas Championships of Shoe Shining 2026, taking place at the Chicago Super Trunk Show at Stitchdown Expo on Saturday November 7. There the three contestants will have 20 minutes to shine a shoe as glossy and lovely looking as possible. The prestigious contest is organised in collaboration with the premium shoe care brand Saphir.
The rapidly growing collagen industry is changing the economics of leather production. Bovine hide splits are increasingly being bought for the production of collagen used in supplements, beauty products, food and medical applications. The result is reduced availability and rising prices for split suedes widely used in affordable and mid-range footwear.
The Florentine based Japanese shoemaker Hidetaka Fukaya with the brand Il Micio has always been one to try out special things. This shoe with a unique patina done by the same technique as when one do paper marbling is certainly a really cool one that stands out.
Time for the substantial review of all 20 competition shoes that entered this year’s World Championships of Shoemaking. Info about the makers and the boots, comments, loads of pictures and, in some cases, photos of the manufacturing process. A close look at some seriously impressive black chelsea boots.
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Here’s the second part of the walkthrough of all competition shoes in the World Championships of Shoemaking 2026. Here position 11 to 20 are presented with comments and lots of photos.
The nappy surface of suede is very different from regular smooth leather, and people often seem to have less knowledge about some of its special characteristics. Two such things are the light streaks that commonly appear where the shoes bend, and how the nap can become completely flat after, for example, lying on its side in a shoe box. Here we explain why this happens and what you can do about it.
The Swiss company Bally is one of the world’s oldest still existing luxury shoe and leather goods brands. After several difficult years, the company now appears to be facing its most serious crisis yet. Bally is under the supervision of the bankruptcy office, its Swiss production has ceased, and the owner has rejected an offer to acquire the entire business.
One of the more inspiring makers I’ve visited is the duo behind Alte Art, based in Asakusa in Tokyo, who mix traditional bespoke shoes with very spectacular, handmade art shoes. One example of this are these miniature versions that they made of various regular bespoke samples.
It’s time to qualify for The Americas Championships of Shoe Shining 2026, with the final taking place at the Super Trunk Show x Stitchdown Expo in Chicago on Saturday, November 7th. During 20 minutes three finalists will polish one factory new shoe as shiny and lovely as possible.
