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Luxury Shoe Caroline Groves Birth Process

2014/5/4 11:34:00 38

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despite the fact that fame is not comparable to that of international brands, a pair of shoes for Caroline Groves will be sold at a minimum of 2500. If there is a large number of embroidered boots, the cost may be as high as 6000.

Caroline Groves does not mind being called "shoemaker" rather than "designer".

10 years ago, she founded the same brand of hand-made shoes in London.

After that, she always takes a big box to visit customers, and tries to bring all the materials, all kinds of shoe last, different shapes of heels, different leather fabrics and so on.

Generally speaking, she will ask at least three meetings with a customer before making a pair of shoes.

Despite this, many international customers are willing to spend a few days in a hotel in the center of London in order to get a pair of shoes she made by herself.

This includes a shoe museum in Moscow, where the director saw a pair of shoes made by Groves with parrot hair, hoping to collect it.

Like P's Handmade tailored suit, the traditional British custom shoes feature hand-made products and do not use any artificial materials throughout the process.

Therefore, British custom shoes have long been known for their durability and comfort.

but it has not been able to exceed the category of traditional men's shoes. Until now, the customers of customized shoes are still predominantly male.

This is because compared with a variety of women's shoes, the manufacturing technology of men's shoes is relatively simple. Only the details of shoe heels, men's shoes are much cheaper than women's shoes.

In addition, a pair of customized men's shoes are adequate for various occasions and can be used for a long time.

For some female consumers, durable is not an attractive label.

They hope to have more styles of shoes.

So for a long time, customized men's shoes have formed their own set of operation mode, which means that a shoemaker's manual technology can be more and more perfect in repeated operation, but the space for innovation is limited.

Even some shoemaker can make women's shoes, but in fact it's just the size of men's shoes.

Groves has entered the shoemaker studio since 1988 to receive training in British traditional shoe making techniques.

It's 15 years since she was on her own.

In Britain, the shoemaker's business continues the ancient apprenticeship, and it takes at least ten years to master these handcrafts.

From the day when Xue Cheng left the studio, Groves realized that he wanted to be a distinctive shoemaker - to make more fashionable women wear custom shoes with comparable art.

In her opinion, shoes, besides functionality, should also be a work of art.

At the beginning of the P, the female customers who visited the Caroline Groves shoes shop were mostly due to more or less problems on their feet, so they need to customize their shoes to cover up the defects.

"But now, more and more customers want to pursue individuality, have unique shoes that can not be bought on store shelves, and every day they walk are all works of art."

Groves told reporters.

customer involvement in design is the biggest difference between Caroline Groves and other footwear brands.

For the first customer to customize new shoes, a pair of shoes will take 3 months from initial communication to production.

now, in retrospect, Groves is still very grateful for the apprenticeship in those 15 years. She does not think that designers and shoemaker are two conflicting jobs.

"Now many young people who design and design have unique ideas, draw a good picture, but they are too lacking in practical experience.

A good designer should not just throw the blueprint to the factory, but understand every link of the manufacturing process. At the beginning of the design, he knows what can be achieved.

rigorous craftsman training plus creativity. Every pair of high-heeled shoes produced by Groves has amazing details.

the shoes she made not only had genuine leather shoes, but even the skeleton inside was made of genuine leather, and it was stitched and fixed by hand when the leather was wet.

Even the most high-end designer brands often use plastic to make shoes.

Groves uses oak bark to make insoles. These oak skins will be exposed for 1 years before they are made into insoles, and then customized according to the size of the customers' feet. The insoles are very durable and very breathable.

She uses aluminum salt and flour, egg yolk and other protein containing adhesives to handle goat skin. These techniques are usually used only in manual binding.

exquisite heel is one of her signboards.

Custom-made men's shoe heels are usually made of real leather and then glued together. The simplicity of men's shoes and heels makes the process easier to operate.

The heels of women's shoes are ever-changing, which requires Groves to manually polish each slice and use different sizes and thickness to form different shapes.

Although there are professional machines that can help, Groves is more willing to believe in his 20 years of experience.

in her studio in Westbourne, West London, all kinds of wooden shoe last piled up in a corner, which are precisely customized according to the foot size of each customer.

You can see that the whole leather is pported in a wet way, maintaining the most primitive state. They will later be hand trimmed according to the size of the shoe last.

There is no assembly line, instead of all kinds of measuring rulers, scissors and blades scattered on the large worktable. The only machine is an old-fashioned sewing machine.

A row of bookshelves at the door is full of books on women's shoes. Retro cabinets, like treasure chest, collect Caroline Groves's works for different customers.

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not every pair of shoes in the cabinet is amazing, but it is a pair of tattered shoes that exceedingly exceedingly excited Groves.

This pair of shoes from the vintage market has been produced since 1930s, but now it has been demolished all over the world.

"I like to take off my shoes and see how the shoemaker does it. For women's shoes, the biggest challenge is how to combine support and comfort, and at the same time, it will not make shoes look bulky. They must be feminine enough."

Groves said.

customer involvement in design is the biggest difference between Caroline Groves and other footwear brands.

For the first customer to customize new shoes, a pair of shoes will take 3 months from initial communication to production.

When Groves meets with new customers for the first time, she will measure the size, determine the style and fabric she likes, and then customize the shoe last.

Sometimes, the same customer often needs to prepare several sets, from flat heels to high heels, from cusp to round head.

After that, she will take the shoe last to meet the customer again to make some fine-tuning, and then decide to cut the fabric according to the outline of the shoe last.

When the last meeting is held, the customer can get the finished product to try on, and Groves will make the final adjustment according to the result of the try.

"When we finish a pair of shoes, we will send them directly to our customers, and everyone's shoes will be unique."

Groves said.

She was holding a pair of unfinished BLACK LACE BOOTS at hand.

These boots have been consumed for more than 6 months, except for the toe part and Leather Heels imported from Italy. All the rest are hand woven with lace.

Groves also needs to find embroidery masters to embroider flowers on black lace.

Groves strive to establish long-term cooperative relationship with customers.

The experience of custom-made shoes is a more slow process.

To get a good shoe from a customized shoemaker, customers first need to be mature enough to be confident and know what they want, plus the skillful shoemaker's skills to finally produce good works.

Of course, it takes much less time to customize new shoes.

"the first pair of shoes will not always be the best. Only by knowing more about your customers can you make the most suitable shoes."

Groves said.

She pointed out that although many people invited her to customize the wedding shoes, but in most cases, this is not the best response order, because most of the wedding shoes are disposable.

this kind of boutique service is actually another feature of traditional British custom shoes besides manual skills.

Shoemaker and customer often form a long-term cooperative intimacy, which requires frequent meeting and communication.

this is why she moved her studio from suburb to Westbourne.

It is closer to the hotel where many of her international customers stay, and has many talents, including many photographers, craftsmen and designers.

Groves can find partners nearby, or bring customers to their studios to see the unique shoes and look for inspiration.

some more familiar guests even invite Groves to visit their home.

A crazy customer has made 20 pairs of shoes of different styles in the past 2 years.

One pair is modeled on the high LACE BOOTS of the Vitoria era. The gorgeous sunflower is inlaid on black deer skins, and the pheasant hair is stitched on the upper surface to add texture.

Groves was invited to her house. She displayed her collection of paintings. One of the German artists Holbein's works brought new inspiration to Groves, so later she got a pair of shoes named Holbein. The shoes were mainly made of crocodile skin, with bright orange calfskin and sheepskin inside, and lined with orange crotch, consistent with the main colors in the picture.

"more and more rich people who are willing to spend money on top art or violin now know the time, energy and craftsmanship contained in each pair of hand-made shoes," Groves said. "Of course, they still consume those designer cards. They are not contradictory, but the time, energy and cost of the customized shoes will give them a special feeling of expectation, which can not be given by designer brands.

Good shoes need to be done slowly. "

handcrafted, private custom, one to one fine service, long-term relationship maintenance...

From a harsh standard, Caroline Groves is closer to the true meaning of luxury than many brands.

It would be more pleasant to open the shoe box of Caroline Groves than to buy the finished products on the assembly line in the magnificent flagship store.