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PHOTOGRAPHY: XAVIER MAS WRITER: LAURA HAWKINS

Designer Paula Gerbase subscribes to the mantra that

the customer is always right. Or at least should be given

a good hearing. ‘One of our bespoke clients challenged

us to create a shoe that fits like a glove,’ says the artistic

director of British footwear brand John Lobb. This test

resulted in four seamless shoe designs, from a loafer to

an Oxford, which have taken two years to develop and

a minimum of 80 hours to handcraft.

Lightweight footwear has fascinated Gerbase since

she joined John Lobb in 2014. Two years ago, the

brand launched its ‘tensile’ construction, an unlined

Goodyear-welted shoe designed for a ‘barefoot’

feel. ‘This is going one step further,’ she says of the

latest seamless shapes, which form part of the

brand’s Artisans’ Series, an annual capsule collection

celebrating the craftsmanship of its bespoke workshop.

‘The first challenge was the lasts of the shoes,’ says

Gerbase. In order to achieve the seamless design, Lobb’s

craftsmen used a process in which calfskin is stretched

over the last and fastened with 22 tension points.

A ‘higher, rounder and more voluminous’ mould was

developed to prevent the leather tearing during the

process. To stop creasing, a larger piece of calfskin was

also required. ‘It was about using something very soft

and supple that could withstand significant pressure’.

The designs are also seamless on the inside,

their inners crafted from multiple layers of paper-thin

leather, and their internal workings dramatically

shaved to achieve that lighter-than-air feel.

Details include a flat sole with a gently rounding

curve and raised slip-beading. ‘Because the shoes

are all handmade, the potential is very different from

ready-to-wear,’ says Gerbase. ‘You don’t have to

think about the manufacturing process’.

The capsule collection will tour the brand’s global

stores this month, alongside its head last maker,

so that customers can place their personalised orders.

Gerbase explains that many clients have already been

drawn to the seamless concept. ‘For the first season,

the order book is already bursting’. ∂ johnlobb.com

Smooth moves

A revolutionary new shoe is not what it seams

THE REVOLUTIONARY

NEW SEAMLESS SHOE BY

JOHN LOBB COMES IN

FOUR STYLES, INCLUDING

LOAFERS AND OXFORDS.

CLIENTS CAN THEN

PERSONALISE THEM

IN THEIR OWN CHOICE OF

COLOUR AND FABRIC

SHOT ON LOCATION AT

UNION WHARF BY NICHOLAS

SZCZEPANIAK ARCHITECTS.

FOR MORE INFORMATION,

VISIT WALLPAPER.COM ∫

Fashion

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