THE FUTURE OF MADE IN ENGLAND
ON WHAT MADE IN ENGLAND MEANS TODAY, WHY IT MATTERS MORE NOW THAN IT DID A DECADE AGO, AND WHAT 1812 REPRESENTS WITHIN THAT STORY
MADE IN ENGLAND IS A PHRASE THAT HAS BEEN THROUGH SEVERAL DIFFERENT LIVES.
FOR MOST OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY IT WAS SIMPLY A FACT: A DESCRIPTION OF WHERE THINGS CAME FROM BEFORE GLOBALISATION MADE THE QUESTION OF ORIGIN COMPLEX. THEN IT BECAME A MARK OF QUALITY AS MANUFACTURING MOVED OFFSHORE AND THE THINGS THAT REMAINED IN ENGLAND SURVIVED BECAUSE THEY WERE TOO PRECISE, TOO SKILLED, OR TOO SPECIFIC TO BE REPLICATED CHEAPLY ELSEWHERE. THEN, FOR A PERIOD, IT BECAME A HERITAGE CLAIM, A MARKETING POSITION ADOPTED BY BRANDS THAT UNDERSTOOD ITS RESONANCE WITHOUT ALWAYS EARNING IT.
NOW IT IS BECOMING SOMETHING ELSE AGAIN. SOMETHING MORE PRECISE AND MORE DEMANDING.
WHAT THE PHRASE ACTUALLY MEANS
MADE IN ENGLAND, APPLIED HONESTLY, MEANS THAT THE SIGNIFICANT MANUFACTURING DECISIONS WERE MADE AND EXECUTED IN ENGLAND BY SKILLED WORKERS USING METHODS DEVELOPED HERE. NOT ASSEMBLED IN ENGLAND FROM COMPONENTS MANUFACTURED ELSEWHERE. NOT DESIGNED IN ENGLAND AND PRODUCED OFFSHORE. MADE HERE, BY PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE MAKING AND WHY THE METHOD MATTERS.
THE DISTINCTION IS NOT SEMANTIC. IT DETERMINES WHETHER THE QUALITY CLAIMED IS REAL OR IMPLIED. ENGLISH SHOEMAKING HAS A SPECIFIC TRADITION: ACCUMULATED KNOWLEDGE ABOUT LEATHER, LAST DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION METHODS AND FINISH THAT DEVELOPED OVER CENTURIES IN WORKSHOPS ACROSS ENGLAND. THAT KNOWLEDGE PRODUCES A SPECIFIC STANDARD. IT CANNOT BE SIMULATED BY MANUFACTURING THE PRODUCT ELSEWHERE AND AFFIXING A LABEL.
WHY IT MATTERS MORE NOW
THE CUSTOMER HAS BECOME MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE.
THE INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE IN WAYS IT WAS NOT A GENERATION AGO. A BUYER WHO WANTS TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER A BRAND'S MADE IN ENGLAND CLAIM IS GENUINE CAN FIND OUT. THEY CAN ASK WHERE THE LEATHER COMES FROM. WHO MAKES THE LASTS. WHAT CONSTRUCTION METHOD IS USED. WHETHER THE SHOE CAN BE RESOLED. THESE QUESTIONS HAVE ANSWERS, AND THE ANSWERS EITHER CONFIRM THE CLAIM OR REVEAL ITS LIMITS.
THIS TRANSPARENCY CHANGES WHAT MADE IN ENGLAND MEANS FOR A BRAND THAT EARNS IT. IT IS NO LONGER SIMPLY A REASSURING LABEL. IT IS A COMMITMENT TO BEING ABLE TO ANSWER EVERY QUESTION ABOUT THE PRODUCT HONESTLY AND SPECIFICALLY. THE BRAND THAT CAN DO THAT HAS SOMETHING THE BRAND THAT CANNOT DOES NOT.
WHAT 1812 REPRESENTS
1812 EXISTS WITHIN THE TRADITION OF ENGLISH SHOEMAKING AND PUSHES AGAINST IT SIMULTANEOUSLY.
THE METHODS ARE ENGLISH. SPRINGLINE LASTS BUILT TO SATRA SPECIFICATIONS. FULL GRAIN LEATHER FROM NAMED TANNERIES. CONSTRUCTION DESIGNED TO BE RESOLED. SKILLED HANDS MAKING EVERY SIGNIFICANT JUDGMENT IN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING EACH PAIR.
THE PRODUCT IS NOT TRADITIONAL. A LUXURY HANDMADE SNEAKER OCCUPIES A DIFFERENT PLACE IN THE WARDROBE FROM A BESPOKE OXFORD. IT IS BUILT FOR THE WORLD AS IT IS NOW. FOR MEN WHO WEAR SNEAKERS RATHER THAN DRESS SHOES BUT WHO REFUSE TO ACCEPT THE STANDARD OF CARE THAT MOST OF THE SNEAKER MARKET APPLIES TO THE OBJECT.
THE FUTURE OF MADE IN ENGLAND IS NOT PRESERVATION. IT IS CONTINUATION: OF THE METHODS, THE STANDARDS, THE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT QUALITY REQUIRES, APPLIED TO THE OBJECTS THAT THE PRESENT MOMENT DEMANDS. THAT IS WHAT 1812 IS DOING. THAT IS WHAT MADE IN ENGLAND MEANS WHEN IT IS EARNED.
1812 MAKES LUXURY HANDMADE SNEAKERS IN ENGLAND. NOT AS A CLAIM. AS A DESCRIPTION.
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