Since it will take a while until I’m finished with the articles covering all the 25 contest shoes of the shoemaking world champs displayed at the super trunk this past Saturday in London, so as always I give you a brief picture special showcasing the amazing top three. Winner this year was Louis Lampertsdörfer, with Ken Kataoka second and Ken Hishinuma 3rd.
This past Saturday we once again had around 1,300 visitors coming through the doors at 12 Regent Street, for the seventh London Super Trunk Show. There will be much more on that in a large report later this week, and as mentioned, later on I will summarise all the 25 contest shoes for the World Championships of Shoemaking, a contest organised by Shoegazing, The Shoe Snob, and Kirby Allison with the book Master Shoemakers, plus Parker Schenecker (brother of contest co-founder Edmund Schenecker who passed away a few years ago). But since there is a lot of work putting those contest articles together and it will take a while, here is a look at the top trio.
As been the case in recent years the overall level of the entries in the world champs contests is really high, no difference this year, and the top three was extremely tight this year. In the end it was only five points between number 1 and 3, with 225-220 points. The shoe to be made this year was a dark brown double monk strap.
On the podium this year we had the following:
Louis Lampertsdörfer, 1st place
Louis Lampertsdörfer is based in the German city Munich. Among other things he was an apprentice and later worked at the bespoke department of Gaziano & Girling in England. He has had several top positions in the contest before, best was third in 2023. Nowadays he runs his own brand Mogada, offering bespoke a small hand welted RTW range.
The shoe is clearly inspired by old contest shoes, with a thin sole and a sole stitching done at a whopping 30 stiches per inch. Things worth highlighting is the finely made horseshoe heel, lovely inlay in the waist area, and super thin 0,5 mm nails in the heel. Raz Maftei did the closing of the upper, the goldsmith Sebastian Schober made the buckles and toe tap, the rest was made by Louis.
The best shoe made in the world this year. So much greatness. Note that the cracks on the side is from when the wax polish layer broke when we removed the tight shoe tree.
About 200 hours was spent making this masterpiece.
Ken Kataoka, 2nd place
Ken Kataoka is a Japanese maker based in Tokyo, he has worked under the brand name Siroeno Yosui but plans to use his own name going forward. He trained partly at the shoemaking school of Noriyuki Misawa. He runs one of the largest YouTube channels in the world showcasing shoemaking by hand. Back in 2022 he finished second.
This is a charismatic shoe, with a lot of things to admire. Superb closing of the upper and and incredible heel. Beautiful metal parts, super narrow waist which is made with a 270° welt and stitching. Ken made all himself.
A true exhibition shoe showcasing superb skill.
Narrow waisted, hollowed heel.
Ken Hishinuma, 3rd place
Last year’s world champion, who should get a lot of kudos for entering again and already the following year. Ken Hishinuma runs the shoe brand Khish the Work, now work from the Japanese woods outside Hokuto City, Yamanashi prefecture. Offers MTO and bespoke, and has one of Japan’s largest YouTube channels on shoemaking, called Crazy about Shoes.
The shoe this time is a very classy looking shoe, with a beautifully made two level welt with different sole stitch versions. Hand braided decoration seams on the upper, thin finely made heel lifts, and metal insert in the heel are other nice features. Ken made all himself, apart from polishing which was made by Go Ishimi.
Knowing the efforts that goes into making these remarkable shoes, it’s incredible to see another one a year after his win.
Clean classic bottom with a neatly made metal inlet in the heel.
