THE FUTURE OF SHOEMAKING

STEPPING INTO TOMORROW: TECHNOLOGY, SUSTAINABILITY AND CRAFT IN THE NEXT ERA OF THE HANDMADE SNEAKER

THE FUTURE OF SHOEMAKING IS NOT ONE THING. IT IS A DIVERGENCE. AT ONE END, AUTOMATION AND SYNTHETIC MATERIALS WILL CONTINUE TO REDUCE THE COST AND INCREASE THE VOLUME OF MASS MARKET PRODUCTION. AT THE OTHER, A SMALL AND GROWING NUMBER OF MAKERS WILL APPLY NEW TOOLS AND MATERIALS IN SERVICE OF THE SAME STANDARD THAT HAS DEFINED QUALITY SHOEMAKING FOR CENTURIES.

TECHNOLOGY IN SERVICE OF CRAFT

DIGITAL LAST DESIGN AND PROTOTYPING ALLOW MAKERS TO REFINE FIT WITH A PRECISION AND SPEED THAT WAS NOT PREVIOUSLY POSSIBLE. THE LAST IS STILL BUILT AROUND AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE FOOT. THE TOOLS FOR REFINING THAT UNDERSTANDING ARE BETTER. THE RESULT IS FASTER ITERATION AND LESS MATERIAL WASTE IN DEVELOPMENT. TECHNOLOGY THAT SUPPORTS THE PROCESS. JUDGEMENT THAT CONTROLS IT.

MATERIALS

THE MATERIAL QUESTION IN A SERIOUS SNEAKER WILL NOT BE RESOLVED BY SYNTHETIC ALTERNATIVES IN THE SHORT TERM. FULL GRAIN LEATHER FROM RESPONSIBLY MANAGED SOURCES, PROCESSED BY TANNERIES THAT HAVE REFINED THEIR METHODS OVER DECADES, REMAINS THE SUPERIOR MATERIAL FOR A SNEAKER BUILT TO LAST AND IMPROVE. THE ENVIRONMENTAL ARGUMENT FOR QUALITY LEATHER OVER SYNTHETIC ALTERNATIVES IS STRAIGHTFORWARD: A SNEAKER THAT LASTS TWENTY YEARS WITH CORRECT MAINTENANCE PRODUCES FAR LESS ENVIRONMENTAL BURDEN THAN TEN SYNTHETIC SNEAKERS ACROSS THE SAME PERIOD.

THE DIRECTION AT 1812

THE FUTURE AT 1812 IS A CONTINUATION OF THE PRESENT. FEWER STYLES. BETTER MADE. MATERIALS CHOSEN FOR HOW THEY PERFORM OVER A DECADE OF WEAR RATHER THAN HOW THEY PHOTOGRAPH IN A STUDIO. CONSTRUCTION METHODS THAT ALLOW THE SNEAKER TO BE RESOLED AND RETURNED TO ITS OWNER RATHER THAN DISCARDED.

THE FUTURE OF SHOEMAKING, FOR MAKERS WHO CARE ABOUT THE LONG TERM, IS NOT TECHNOLOGY. IT IS INTENTION.