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  • Faust
    kitsch killer
    • Sep 2006
    • 37852

    Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?



    Wow, I think Poell should get his hands on some of this skin...



    From NYtimes.com


    Lace Up a Bit of History










    LONDON — So, you’ve realized
    that those shapeless but comfortable shoes you’ve come to favor do not
    impress clients, that those sleek Italian driving slip-ons with treads
    curving up the back no longer announce that you have a special style.




    One remedy might be having shoes made from a leather so rare, so
    exquisite, so exclusive that its purveyors have exhausted the thesaurus
    to come up with adjectives to make you want it.




    Only a lucky (actually, wealthy) few hundred have been shod in this
    leather. And only a few dozen more will be able to join their ranks,
    since the two shoemakers here that have access to it will soon be down
    to their last hides.




    The leather is pre-Revolutionary Russian reindeer hide and is said
    by its owners to have wonderful qualities of wear, luster and aroma.
    The shoes made from it are strikingly beautiful, notable for their rich
    mid-brown color and cross-hatching applied by the hands of Russian
    tanners in the 18th century. But however exceptional the leather is, it
    comes with what is for many a more appealing feature: an intriguing
    history.




    The leather was recovered from a Danish brigantine that went down in
    a storm more than 200 years ago off the coast of Plymouth, England. The
    ship, the Catherina von Flensburg, was bound for Genoa from St.
    Petersburg, its cargo destined for Italian artisans, when it sank in
    December 1786.




    The Times of London recorded the event, saying, “Ship and cargo totally lost; the crew saved.”




    Lost maybe, but not forever. In 1973, amateur divers discovered the
    remains of the Catherina and found its cargo of hides largely preserved
    from the saltwater by the thick black mud of Plymouth Sound.




    Under British law, Prince Charles, as Duke of Cornwall, was the
    owner of the wreck and its contents. He allowed the diving club to sell
    the hides to finance the salvage operation.




    Ian Skelton, the head diver, found someone to restore the leather.
    And John Carnera and George Glasgow — who are “bespoke,” or custom,
    shoemakers in London and who knew of the legendary qualities of
    pre-Revolutionary Russian calf — began acquiring it and fashioning it
    into shoes in 1987.




    “The way leather was worked by the Russian tanners was an art form,”
    Mr. Carnera said. “They were laid in pits for a long period of time and
    tanned using only natural vegetable oils.”




    He said that modern efforts to duplicate the tanning process lost in
    the Revolution have failed. The first pair of shoes made with the
    leather was for Prince Charles, who is not only heir to the British
    throne but also holder of the less-formal title “the world’s most
    Englishly dressed gentleman.”




    The shoes may still be purchased at New & Lingwood, a fine men’s
    shop on Jermyn Street, where Mr. Carnera and Mr. Glasgow used to work,
    and at G. J. Cleverley & Company, a renowned bespoke shoemaker in
    the Royal Arcade off Old Bond Street, which they now run.




    Colin Austin, the current master shoemaker at New & Lingwood,
    says he has about 80 pairs of ready-made shoes in stock and only enough
    leather remaining to make about five pairs of bespoke shoes.




    Mr. Carnera says he uses the precious Russian calf only for bespoke
    shoes and he has access to enough hides for about 40 more pairs. After
    those shoes are gone there may be no more. Mr. Skelton said he no
    longer wishes to risk his life diving in dangerous and murky waters.
    Although the forward hold of the ship probably still carries some
    hides, he said in a telephone interview from his home in Cornwall that
    he’s finished diving. “I’m 66 now and have been doing this for 30
    years,” he said. “During that time I’ve had some close calls.”




    Those interested in acquiring the shoes should be prepared to pay a
    bit more than for a pair of Hush Puppies; at New & Lingwood,
    ready-made loafers and brogues cost £995, or about $1,900. Bespoke
    Russian calf shoes are $4,960, compared with $3,433 for custom shoes in
    regular leathers.




    At Cleverley’s, you can get custom-made shoes from Russian reindeer,
    including the shop’s signature squared-toe styles, for $4,197, compared
    with $3,433 for regular leathers. Both shops are reticent about who is
    walking about in rare Russian calf, but Mr. Carnera allowed that he has
    made pairs for Jackie Stewart, the race car driver, and Terence Stamp,
    the actor, both Britons. But most of those who own the shoes are
    Americans.




    Niels Van-Rooyen, a manager at New & Lingwood, said the
    exclusivity and back story of the shoes acts like catnip to American
    customers. “Americans love something with a history to it,” he said.
    Owning a pair is, for many, “like joining a special club.”








    Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

    StyleZeitgeist Magazine
  • Chinorlz
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2006
    • 6422

    #2
    Re: Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?



    Very interesting. I wonder what Altieri/Amadei could do with the leather if they got their hands on it. The final product in the photo looks rather.... average. Nice for a banker, but average.



    Take that soggy leather and bury it for a few more years in a desert! That'll make it even better!





    -A

    www.AlbertHuangMD.com - Digital Portfolio Of Projects & Designs

    Merz (5/22/09):"i'm a firm believer that the ultimate prevailing logic in design is 'does shit look sick as fuck' "

    Comment

    • Faust
      kitsch killer
      • Sep 2006
      • 37852

      #3
      Re: Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?

      [quote user="Chinorlz"]

      Very interesting. I wonder what Altieri/Amadei could do with the leather if they got their hands on it. The final product in the photo looks rather.... average. Nice for a banker, but average.



      Take that soggy leather and bury it for a few more years in a desert! That'll make it even better!





      -A



      [/quote]



      I think the leather looks awesome - it's the shoe that blows.

      Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

      StyleZeitgeist Magazine

      Comment

      • Servo2000
        Senior Member
        • Oct 2006
        • 2183

        #4
        Re: Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?

        What a waste.

        I would've liked to have seen the raw leather, personally.
        WTB: Rick Owens Padded MA-1 Bomber XS (LIMO / MOUNTAIN)

        Comment

        • djrajio
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2006
          • 143

          #5
          Re: Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?

          Bah. I'm a banker and find those shoes beautiful. You can't wear avant-garde/cutting edge shoes for every occassion. If I had 5 grand to drop, I'd consider some wonderfully english shoes like those.

          Comment

          • xcoldricex
            Senior Member
            • Sep 2006
            • 1347

            #6
            Re: Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?

            lovely leather. i'd like them if they were a bit simpler (not a fan of that styling, too "dandy" for me) and i'm definitely not a fan of square toes...

            Comment

            • clay
              Senior Member
              • Sep 2006
              • 284

              #7
              Re: Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?

              [quote user="Chinorlz"]

              Very interesting. I wonder what Altieri/Amadei could do with the leather if they got their hands on it. The final product in the photo looks rather.... average. Nice for a banker, but average.



              Take that soggy leather and bury it for a few more years in a desert! That'll make it even better!



              A



              Take that soggy leather and bury it for a few more years in a desert! Then craft a shoe using the original nails and hemp rope found in the wreckage for the welts, mix the original mud in the dye and stain, bake them and rinse with the sea water.



              Sorry had to jump on your boat.[:D]



              Clay





              [/quote]

              Comment

              • threerepute
                Member
                • Sep 2006
                • 39

                #8
                Re: Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?

                [quote user="clay"][quote user="Chinorlz"]

                Very interesting. I wonder
                what Altieri/Amadei could do with the leather if they got their hands
                on it. The final product in the photo looks rather.... average. Nice
                for a banker, but average.



                Take that soggy leather and bury it for a few more years in a desert! That'll make it even better!



                A




                Take that soggy leather and bury it for a few more years in a desert!
                Then craft a shoe using the original nails and hemp rope found in
                the wreckage for the welts, mix the original mud in the dye and stain,
                bake them and rinse with the sea water.



                Sorry had to jump on your boat.[:D]



                Clay







                [/quote][/quote]





                that sounds ridiculous and awesome.

                Comment

                • Chinorlz
                  Senior Member
                  • Sep 2006
                  • 6422

                  #9
                  Re: Most Exclusive Shoes in the world?

                  [quote user="threerepute"][quote user="clay"][quote user="Chinorlz"]

                  Very interesting. I wonder what Altieri/Amadei could do with the leather if they got their hands on it. The final product in the photo looks rather.... average. Nice for a banker, but average.



                  Take that soggy leather and bury it for a few more years in a desert! That'll make it even better!



                  A



                  Take that soggy leather and bury it for a few more years in a desert! Then craft a shoe using the original nails and hemp rope found in the wreckage for the welts, mix the original mud in the dye and stain, bake them and rinse with the sea water.



                  Sorry had to jump on your boat.[:D]



                  Clay







                  [/quote][/quote]





                  that sounds ridiculous and awesome.



                  [/quote]



                  Don't forget that after all that treatment and re-procuring of the original mud and nails from the salvaged ship, digital imaging technology will be used to generate a 3-D picture of the buyer's foot. Then a muslin free-form made and then the bespoke shoe built around it.



                  After crafting, the shoe will be hand-rubbed with the powdered mud and exposed to high intensity ultraviolet light to chemically "bake" in the color. Of course a tooled wooden form of the buyer's foot will be present inside of the built shoe throughout treatment so that shape changes will be natural.



                  hahahahaha!

                  www.AlbertHuangMD.com - Digital Portfolio Of Projects & Designs

                  Merz (5/22/09):"i'm a firm believer that the ultimate prevailing logic in design is 'does shit look sick as fuck' "

                  Comment

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