In this episode we are meeting a proper shoe collector, André Simha, who owns more than 300 pairs of welted shoes from literally all over the world. We talk about what it is that drives him to continue to buy new shoes, discuss practical things like storage and shoe care, gets his experience of various shoemaking countries and brands, and much more.

 

André Simha is from Geneva, Switzerland, and is known to many as andrel42 on Instagram, where he shows off his seriously impressive shoe collection. His interest in classic shoes started in the late 80’s, and since then he’s been digging deeper and deeper into this world. He has become personal friends with many shoemakers, and is a familiar face on shoe events like the super trunk shows.

André Simha.

André Simha in front of some of his many shelves with shoes. Picture: Magali Girardin

André Simha has worked in the shipping industry for many years, and has two big passions in life (apart from his family): guitars and shoes. In this chat you’ll get to know what Andrés wife thinks of his hobby, how he stores and keep track of all the hundreds of pairs of shoes, which brand that is his all time favourite, and much more. If you’ve ever been fascinated about the people that collect stuff – and you like shoes – well this is the episode for you.

Listen to the episode below, or in your preferred podcast player. All episodes of the Shoegazing Podcast can be found here. If you like the podcast, please give it a good rating or comment in your podcast player.