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As people’s environmental awareness increases, we have also seen a demand for vegetable tanned upper leathers to a greater extent than before. The shoes above are an example of such, with veg-tanned grain leather from the Swedish tannery Tärnsjö, on the Shoegazing boot Sarek that I did with Hungarian Vass a few years ago.
Cordovan is an immensely popular material for shoes and leather accessories, with its special character and features. However, it was not until about 100 years ago that it first started to be used for shoes, since cordovan tanneries were forced to further develop the material after a new invention caused a historical crisis for the cordovan industry.
The past few years the demand for regular cowhides has dropped dramatically, and in some places one has started to burry the hides since no one wants them. The reason is that more people want so-called vegan leather, the interest in leather shoes decline in general, and more. So far, premium skins have been spared, but the question is whether this trend will reach here as well.
One difficulty that the growing online retailing of shoes poses for both stores and customers is the rendering of the colour of the shoes. The shade of leather, if not black, can vary greatly depending on light and situation, and can also differ between hides and batches.
Regular patent leather means that the skin is covered with a glossy plastic film, cheap and easy. These shoes from the Japanese bespoke shoemaker Marquess are made in a really exclusive, very unusual patent leather that has been treated with a kind of waxy surface, which gives the same shine but allows the leather to breathe and receive care as ordinary leather. Patent shoes that have an interesting story.
The fact that different brown shades are very common when it comes to leather shoes, and leather products in general, is due to simple practical reasons historically. This article explains the whole thing closer.
Once again some snaps from the shoe world. This time about examples of how brand’s top ranges were developed after they made for others, about new top RTW/MTO offerings, and what calf leather could be back in the days.
Imagine that the raw material for your future leather shoes is not from animals, but grown in large laboratories. Already next year biochemically produced leather is released on the market, and at least in theory there are many advantages. Is biofabricated leather the future?
For shoe manufacturers, both the big factories and small one-man operations, it is a constant pursuit of good upper leather. When you come across good material, therefore, there are many who accumulate extra, in order to “have for the future”, and it is often a pleasure to look around in the shelves with leathers. And most fuzz gets nice old vintage skins.
The world of classic shoes contains many different terms, and in some cases they are mixed together. Especially for those who have recently started to be interested in the subject, it can be complicated to understand the difference, or not mix up things. Here are explanations of some of the different terms that are often mixed up.
