Coco Chanel began to ply her trade as a milliner of note when she opened her hat boutique in Paris in 1910. She soon expanded to include ready-to-wear tailored coats and sporting pieces to ensure the fashionable ladies of Parisian society were appropriately attired for their various sporting and leisure pursuits. Her designs featured elegant yet defined silhouettes and luxurious but practical materials which quickly came to define her house style and remain iconic and distinct today. The Chanel house would continue to grow, offering all manner of luxury goods, leather goods, perfumes and, eventually, couture designs. The brand is widely regarded as one of the world’s pre-eminent high-end luxury fashion brands.
Tag Archives: SHOES
LUDWIG REITER
A Viennese shoemaker of distinction, Ludwig Reiter traces its foundation back to 1885. The brand is renowned for their high-quality leather shoes and accessories, including bags, luggage and belts. Ludwig Reiter offers a bespoke shoemaking service for their most exacting customers too.
ALMINI
A boutique Milanese shoemaker and leather goods atelier that was established by Pietro Almini in 1921. The marque is renowned as a maker of high-quality, handmade footwear, bespoke to a customer’s exact specifications. Almini uses a wide range of hides and tans with a full suite of colourways. Their casual shoes are particularly sought after. The brand’s craftsmanship extends to various leather goods and accessories including bags, belts and travelling accoutrements.
LOAKE
Since 1880, Loake Shoemakers has been one of the pre-eminent English shoemakers. The firm was founded in the Northamptonshire town of Kettering, located within that pocket of England’s green and pleasant land that is renowned for its shoemaking tradition and which has given the world a number of footwear brands of great distinction. Loake may be considered to be amongst the best of them. The brand was founded by three brothers, descended from a shoemaking dynasty, who set about making the very best handmade shoes a gentleman could desire. The brand’s custodians today are descendants of the original founders with the house controlled by the Loake family.
HERMÈS
The ultimate in luxury brands, Hermès is synonymous with opulent and sumptuous goods, finished to the highest standards. This house has perfected the art of luxury since its foundation as a saddlery in 1837. From the outset, the Hermès brand was a favourite of the highest of nobility and the Parisian elite who would seek out no other maker for their equestrian and carriage equipment. The maison would use it’s leather-making expertise to craft various other accoutrement essential to the comfortable travel of its distinguished customers, including luggage and travel cases. With the advent of the automotive age, the brand would apply its prestige and know-how to upholstering the very best motor cars and expanding into leather goods, such as handbags, belts, boots and so forth. This also marked the transformation of the brand into a high fashion label, renowned for their selection of the best materials and elaborate prints to create beautiful accessories and apparel. Today the brand stands as the height of luxury, admired and desired throughout the world.
MAX MARA
Few items of apparel are as iconic as Max Mara’s camel coat, a cashmere wrap coat that is, arguably, one of the most in-demand pieces of womenswear ever produced. It has been the mainstay of the Max Mara house, founded in 1951 as a Ready-to-Wear high fashion designer. Initially focussed on the Italian marker, the Reggio Emilia outfitters offer a full range of fashions, accessories, fragrances and jewellery to an international customer base. The label has also ventured into couture and has an acclaimed bridalwear range.
CAMBRILLÓN
A highly sought-out bespoke shoemaker, Cambrillón makes its shoes by hand in the traditional fashion from their workshop in Almansa, the heart of Spain’s historic leather industry. In addition to beautiful, fully custom footwear, the brand also produces a range of luxury leather goods.
ZILLI: A LEATHER JACKET EMPIRE IS BORN
The Zilli story begins in 1965 with the foundation of the iconic brand which, today, is synonymous with luxurious apparel and stylish, tailored pieces, especially leather apparel. It was then that a collaboration would begin which would shape the direction of the Maison Zilli line – a collaboration between a French entrepreneur and an established Italian tailor with a reputation for sleek and elegant designs for discerning customers.
LUIGI BORRELLI: FROM MASTER SHIRTMAKER TO LUXURY OUTFITTERS
Luigi Borrelli is a highly reputable menswear store, founded in Naples in 1957. The store was established by renowned Neapolitan shirtmaker, Luigi Borrelli, who sought to continue his family’s trade, having been taught his craft by his mother. His eponymous sartorial outpost became known as a haven for luxurious, handmade and beautifully tailored pieces. Borrelli today has stores across Italy and has recently expanded overseas with its first international branch in Tokyo.
JAMES TAYLOR & SON: A LEGENDARY LONDON SHOEMAKING FIRM
James Taylor & Son is a renowned British bespoke shoemaker that has been crafting exquisite footwear since 1857. Over the years, they have established themselves as one of the most respected shoemakers in London, renowned for their impeccable craftsmanship, unparalleled comfort, and timeless elegance. The house was founded by a well-regarded Norfolk shoesmith of the same name, who established himself in London, bringing with him that great shoemaking tradition for which that region of England between Northampton and Norfolk is so famous.
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