GUIDI

[gavagai]

They have the boxing shoes, which are kind of a sneaker, in the realm of Guidi. But I guess you might think of something like the Augusta-sneakers, but maybe a bit toned down and slimmer. Alexander Fielden comes to my mind when I think about it.

I haven't actually seen them in person or tried them on but would love to. The boxing boots in white would be great to kick around town in...

[Faust]

While in Italy I took a tour of the Guidi factory and the showroom and they graciously agreed to let me take some photos. These are for SZ only - please do not reproduce them outside the forums. Enjoy!

FACTORY


Pre-processed hides


Individual hides taken to be pressed and cleaned.


Raw hide bag before it goes into object dyeing. Guidi uses only natural dyes - no chemicals.


Shoes and bags are dyed in small batches in these dyeing drums.


Dyed bags drying



Freshly dyed footwear


After being dyed, all the footwear is stuffed with paper and hung to dry for some days to take shape.


Drying footwear

[Faust]

SHOWROOM



Some eye-candy for you.

Current offerings:




The archives:

[magic]

Thanks E for the images. Always thought that only boots are object dyed and not bags... Happy to know that^

[AKA*NYC]

awesome. now if someone could please ask them to bring back the chunky heel for mens!

[Faust]

I really appreciated these pictures as I have worried how things were actually made there. I do know it's a pretty small town and I do like what I see from the pictures. Do you know approximately how many people who work with creating the shoes, or how many pairs they produce every single year? I'm just genuinely interested, that's why I'm asking.

What is the idea behind the showroom? Do only most Italian stockists go there, or does also international brands go? For the ones going to Pitti Uomo it's not that much off the path I guess.

On another note, I see there is 992 T derbies hanging there in what seems to be the color I ordered as well, so maybe my custom order is in that batch.

I don't know how many pairs are produced. They don't actually assemble the shoes - that's done in a village 50km away from the factory. They make the leather and they dye and treat the product.

The showroom is for showcasing the products and for storing the archives. Most of the buying is done in Paris.

[gavagai]

Great pictures. Thanks for this!

[cuddly]

damn, i love me some guidis. great pics.

[nictan]

that was one of the best posts in a while. we should have more of such pictures/reports on the other designer threads as well.

[kuugaia]

Thanks for the pics Faust, much appreciated. Didn't know that the construction of the boots were actually done elsewhere. But I suppose looking at the pics, it explains how some pairs of shoes have different textures of leather between the left and right shoe.

[starsailor]

I think high quality fashion industry in Italy equals to small makers who do series of work for different labels. So i bet that makers who do Guidi shoes also make some work to other designers. You can't compete with mass production in cheaper countries so you must compete with quality, design and image of the product. It's amazing how good their leather products look like.

[Faust]

that was one of the best posts in a while. we should have more of such pictures/reports on the other designer threads as well.

Lowrey and I do our best!

You are welcome, everyone.

[nictan]

we want more!!!

jokes aside, as someone who has ziltch access to such information/pics, i really appreciate it when someone who does, comes along and shares it on the forum.

[Peasant]

Wow Faust. Great pics! Such an awesome insight to the factory. I love how tens of thousands of dollars worth of boots are just piled in a bin. I need a Guidi bag and now I feel even better about giving them my money. Thanks!

[lowrey]

we want more!!!

exactly....