DESIGN

DESIGN IS WHERE EVERYTHING BEGINS AND WHERE MOST THINGS END.

WE WORK SLOWLY. ONE COLLECTION A YEAR. EACH SILHOUETTE BEGINS WITH A QUESTION AND IS RESOLVED ONLY WHEN NOTHING CAN BE ADDED AND NOTHING SHOULD BE REMOVED. SOME IDEAS SURVIVE TEN ROUNDS OF REVISION. OTHERS DO NOT SURVIVE THE FIRST.

THE REFERENCES ARE DEEP. MOORE. RAMS. POLLOCK. THE FRACTURED GEOMETRY OF CORNISH SLATE. THE SILENCE INSIDE A ROTHKO. THESE ARE NOT MOOD BOARDS. THEY ARE THE CONDITIONS FROM WHICH THE WORK EMERGES.

THE MIDAS. THE ULYSSES. THE ICARUS. EACH NAME IS A BRIEF. A WEIGHT CARRIED BEFORE A SINGLE STITCH IS MADE. THE SHOE MUST EARN IT.

WE DO NOT FOLLOW. WE DO NOT REPEAT.

AT 1812, THIS INTRICATE PUZZLE IS RESOLVED DURING THE PROTOTYPING PHASE. FOLLOWING THE TRADITION OF MASTER CORDWAINERS, OUR DESIGNERS WORK OVER A LAST SHAPED TO MIRROR THE COMPOUND CURVES OF THE HUMAN FOOT.

EACH PROTOTYPE IS MORE THAN A STUDY IN FORM, IT IS A FUNCTIONAL TEST PIECE, SCRUTINISED FOR STRUCTURE, COMFORT, AND AESTHETIC HARMONY.

THE PROCESS FOLLOWS A MEASURED RHYTHM, GUIDED BY AN EXTENDED DESIGN BRIEF THAT EVOLVES THROUGH STAGES: REFINING STRUCTURE, SELECTING MATERIALS, AND EXPLORING VISUAL LANGUAGE. THIS CYCLE REPEATS, OFTEN MANY TIMES, UNTIL A DESIGN REACHES THE STANDARD REQUIRED FOR PRODUCTION.

EVERY CREATION MUST NAVIGATE THE DELICATE BALANCE BETWEEN STRENGTH AND FLEXIBILITY, DURABILITY AND LIGHTNESS AND QUALITY.

PERFECTION, IN THIS CONTEXT, IS NOT ABSOLUTE; WE PREFER THE NATURAL IMPERFECTION OF REAL LEATHER. IT IS THE PRECISE RESOLUTION OF FORM AND FUNCTION FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE, CRAFTED FOR ITS MOMENT IN TIME.