The Hand-Welted Cap-Toe Oxford Shoes - Last 001

Handcrafted in Italy

In the XII century the compagnie delle arti or craftsmen's guilds were established in Emilia Romagna, one of which focussed on the creation of fine shoes. Quality and heritage is the basis of Archibald and within days of our arrival in Italy, we met craftsmen working for brands such as Berluti (Ferrara), Santoni, Peron & Peron (Bologna), Testoni (Modena) and Enzo Bonafe. We finally settled on a small family-owned workshop in Modena, Italy where a father and son team make, what are, in our opinion at least, the finest shoes we have come across.

Visit the workshop in Mirandola, Italy

##A uniquely soft yet durable vegetable-tanned Italian calfskin forms the upper which connects to the sole through a rare hand-welted construction. The combination promises a unique blend of comfort, protection and longevity from the moment you wear them. The softer leather acclimates to your foot almost immediately, yet still maintains its shape - a trait generally reserved for skins used for special-collection or high-end custom-grade shoes.

Archibald London is the New Age Luxury Brand that Should Be On Everyone’s Radar by B. Oliver (29/02/2018), The Robb Report.

##Hand-welting is a process that luxury stalwarts often reserve for bespoke shoe-making, a service that's priced in the thousands In order to be able to hand-welt a shoe, only the highest quality materials like vegetable tanned leather of a certain thickness must be used. This is because only high grade materials can withstand channels being cut into them for the holdfast, where the stitches are driven through by hand. Put simply, hand-welting is a return to classic craftsmanship by true artisans.