Berluti Paris: Part I – Bespoke Showroom Tour | The Most Creative Bespoke Shoes in the World?

Foreign Hi I'm Kirby Allison and today I'm in the 
beautiful Paris of course on Rue my booth   One of the most famous and important streets 
in all of Paris for the well-dressed gentlemen   I have iconic chiffonelli behind me but today we 
have something really special in store we've been   Invited inside the bespoke shoemaking workshop 
at berluti by the director of bespoke Jean-Michel   Now of course for those that are passionate 
about shoes and about quality craftsmanship   And tradition all know that veluti is synonymous 
with French shoemaking having all but invented   The style that we so closely associate with the 
French the incredible patinas the Striking pattern   Designs and the creativity really exercised at 
the absolute highest level so join me as we step   Inside the bespoke shoe making workshop and see 
these incredible Creations from berluti foreign Workshop is perched above watching over uh from 
across the street right exactly the idea is to   Keep in mind that it's a real Workshop so we 
don't want to to be in the street otherwise   It's uh disturbing us we have too much to to be 
efficient in the work well it's a real privilege   To be invited up here because it is as you say 
not really open to the public exclusively just   To bespoke clients I'm sure and then those 
here quietly working away on the second   Uh second floor here you know doing their 
work as they have been you know for decades   Exactly so we moved here quite recently but we 
still do exactly the same job the same work since   Maybe one century ago yeah it's amazing I mean 
in some ways I'm particularly excited to be here   Because you know on the channel we've covered 
so much about English shoemaking you know but   French shoemaking is really developed into its own 
genre I mean it is very distinct uh in its and its   Approach and its aesthetic then certainly English 
shoemaking and berluti is really the birthplace   Of that I mean Olga berluti you know back in 
was the 1970s I really was very Cutting Edge   In her introduction of these at that time radical 
patinas and designs that up until then had never   Been seen before and so I think in many ways you 
know berluti really is that birthplace of modern   French shoemaking and then under your tutelage 
you know is a continuing that tradition forward   And as very authentic way thank you yeah so I 
think about here as you said is a very uh very   Unique uh it's for me it's always difficult to 
describe what is French making but the way you   Just speak about that is great so yeah I take 
it I think the things that you'll have to show   Us today really will speak for themselves so so 
here we are so describe where we are this is we   Try to have a kind of showroom okay a clean room 
to welcome our customers some time far from the   Dust from the noise from the smell of a workshop 
a workshop is a mix of all those bad things most   Of the customers I really like to come here 
for this atmosphere but we still want to have   Something cleaner to welcome the customer so 
let's say a showroom yeah okay so here we are   And the bespoke showroom at the anti-a and we're 
surrounded by these beautiful models and examples  

For ludy's incredible work so you know maybe 
to begin you can kind of show us some of these   Reference pieces that really help describe from 
an aesthetic perspective how berludi is so unique   So here we have a little bit of everything 
you know uh I would say the most emblemat um Because we have a lot of variation of a somehow 
due to the the huge range of Tour line we do we   Do a lot of flasks this one for example so 
this one is made in one piece of leather   So the whole cut seamless yeah With a specific classic French bottoming by 
the way this is something very a bit unique   We do we don't you don't do this kind of finish in 
English in England uh we call it grateblanc okay   So we send the sword very nicely to have a little 
bit uh peach skin effect okay it's quite kind of   Fragile with aging and you don't feel the pitch 
effect anymore but it's a really a nice moment   Where the Shoemaker finish the shoes nicely so 
this is the one of your most iconic models the   Alessandro yes and we develop also a different 
type of Harrison Road I mean the same model with   Different type of construction to show a little 
bit to our customers what we can propose okay so   Those construction can be some see for example 
Focus mode while looking for lightness yeah so   For like lightness for comfort and for you know 
having some single bit cushioning we're gonna uh   Offer the customer because we see to do 
something which look like in terms of   Stiffness wearing a classic leather shoe but in 
terms of lightness yeah I mean if you I think yeah   So this is that again a demonstration of how 
you know berluti and the bespoke level you can   Really customize your shoe on so many different 
levels the model I mean even a bespoke design   That you're sketching out the totally one-off 
creation this being you know an iconic model the   Alessandro patina ride but then also the way that 
it's actually constructed with the bottom making They don't I'm not a big fan of river 
yeah but we always focus on the customer   Uh I think it's very important when 
you do bespoke to pay attention on   The conclusion and the the goal is to to match 
the expectation of the customer to to have a   Happy customer so we always have to sometimes 
forget yourself and speak about the project   So yeah rubber is a very popular those days 
because our customer start to travel again   During two years they didn't wear leather shoes so 
you know the the feet are spoilerately yeah that's   Right yeah something the soft entry back into 
laced Footwear but you still have construction   You see a reinforcement you still have a bad 
Contour two cap yeah so those elements are very   Important for shoaking because as you know that 
will give a good support a good structure and   Also conserve the the last of of the shoes so 
the the shoes will age well age well yeah and   Then of course this is still welted so it can 
be easily resolved exactly it's worth it so it   Can be resolved yeah yeah so this is fascinating 
so this is the Alessandro it's an iconic model   But this is showcasing the variation of 
make that you can have you know bespoke  

At a workshop like berluti exactly we have a we 
have a lot of type of construction let me show you   This this is coming from uh actually the founder 
of the company Allison Roberti in 1895 who created   In 1895 yeah so over 100 years old yeah well over 
so it created this type of construction which is   Quite rare actually so we do it with a frequently 
in in reality but I never see that in our   Competitor how would you describe this I mean it's 
almost like a Norwegian but it's the leather is   Actually the look create uh give a heavier heavier 
look like than a classic well construction so Yeah actually it's a piping piping okay piping 
between the Opera and the weight okay then you   Can you can uh play a little bit with the with 
this piping so on this we create like uh with a   Stone with a steel and create some Mark a bit like 
uh yeah a ravioli yes I see it and what is this   Reference called what is this technique uh we call 
it the Bible uh construction because it's coming   From the very first yeah it's like the Genesis 
Genesis chapter one and this is beautiful and   So again you know square square waist Square West 
for this type of thing yeah uh we could imagine to   Do a yeah we could imagine to do the the piping 
uh disappearing and at the at the waist yeah uh   That's that's a good idea but uh by the way yeah 
and this again good showcases I mean one of the   Things that I guess one of the things that strikes 
me about berluti is that it's design you know   Latitude is massive right and when you guys can do 
really classic shoes that can be mistaken for just   A pair of English shoes right I mean black cap to 
Oxford with a round toe all right yeah so yeah we   Do a lot of very classic and the classics classics 
of course but then you go all the way over to you   Know the far left field of the uh you know the 
crazy the interesting the completely one of a kind   You know that to me is what I most iconically 
associate with veludi so can you showcase can   You show us I mean we've got this huge range of 
models here what else so the thing is is for me   It's really important to to explain that in a way 
we are guide by our customers we like to say that   Foreign's work the customers and the Shoemaker 
working together so in a way we the customer is   Our RTC director so the our customer changed us a 
lot to play and to create new things so I have a   Lot of sketches here to show it a bit what we 
can propose So based on the discussion on the   First meeting with the customer we propose some 
variation on of so for example those scenes were   Creation to match of course yeah a discussion and 
some wishes from a customer and so this is really   I mean you know almost kind of old Couture I mean 
really beginning with the sketch yeah something   That's never been realized before yeah yeah yeah 
most of the time it's a pure creation of course I   Keep those then that it all adds to the collection 
exactly to add to the collection if any even if   This one I never made it yet I made the three 
the three others but uh why not why not this   Also is interesting that was some variation of a 
fake monk strap oh really so kind of a mark monk   Yeah similar to The Churchill exactly yeah kind of 
interesting uh so those with a kind of twist for   No classic Balmoral some Christmas so who's doing 
these sketches so we work with a with a drawer and  

Uh that's amazing because we understand each other 
we don't have to know to do like tons of meetings So I I do a brief after a meeting I explain with 
the customer as I I speak with him to to say uh   The idea I have whatever and they come back 
with some sketches say yes no and then you do   The color the coloring and so if the customer ends 
up commissioning these shoes does he get this to   Frame in his office some some of them yes some 
of them yes some of them there are big fun big   Fun and you know when you made a like multiple 
uh hundreds pairs to a customer at the end you   Are frame everywhere so now we I start by doing 
this kind of uh of a big frame something more   Like like this based on the so that was his first 
commission yes five shoes five shoes right yeah   And each model yeah it's nice yeah it is it 
really is on March 2018. so uh we have a very   Classic classic Model like this kind of classic 
hard Square yeah so this is a simple semi brogue   Right yeah very classic very classic variations 
very uh Timeless and then we go into a creation   Like uh this pattern very interesting very 
high with engravement we made with a laser   This is done via laser yeah so for that 
we need to to make the last to make the   Pattern to prepare the pattern precisely to 
cut the pattern and then to uh to to create the Amazing so it's a lot of work but with you 
see the piping everywhere so a lot of detail   This is all hand stitching yes on the upper this 
is a braided Stitch yeah it looks braided is it   No I don't see so it's double stitches double 
Stitch okay so let me show you these are so it's   The technique is interesting we create an illusion 
of having a stitching here by putting um the laces   Between the lining and the upper really okay so at 
the end you have this kind of uh nice relief which   I give so this is in many ways it's a single piece 
of leather right so this isn't kind of this isn't   Sewn together this is piping shoelaces underneath 
to create it's a beautiful aesthetic yeah man   Thank you this is what's really interesting about 
baluti is I mean as far as design creativity is   Concerned within bespoke shoes I mean berluti 
is really on The Cutting Edge of just absolutely   Incredible one-off just amazing beautifully 
inspired you know designs such as this that you've   Never seen before thank you I mean this is this is 
amazing it's a beautiful casual and the so this is   Inspired by the classic and Euro the andiro fur uh 
was created by Olga in 1962 I would say okay which   Is a classic like uh hand stitching here classical 
bar but the this Swiss is a very modern and very   Very versatile you could say with the blue 
soul wow so again a Finnish uh it's interesting   We like to match the sole with the sutrin that I 
need we have a few colors of lining like blue red   Purple green so some could smell like bright 
some other very subtle so we do also sometimes   Black black lining but it's good this also 
is the same same technique on the Jot Pro   So that gave us some cereal so a very graphic 
very interesting but has a subtlety to it   It's real soft on the eye right it doesn't 
just that's true yeah and that's absolute   Sometimes for white feet like this to give a 
illusion of having something a bit uh less wine

It's amazing what else have you there's 
so much this uh yeah so this okay this is   Great this is very cool also because 
on this we just create an incision Not totally uh not deep deep otherwise you're 
gonna cut the skin and we manage where the   Tension when we pull when we make the making 
to flatten it here and keep you know the the   I know it's difficult to explain yeah maybe you 
will describe better than me well I mean there's   It's raised right here and then as you pull it 
tan it flattens and allows you to get a nice yeah   And so when this is before it's lasted yes 
this is kind of all the way around yeah exactly And also the last is very interesting because 
the last is a bit asymmetric so asymmetric   This way okay it's a bit like that the angle is 
not Square it's a bit like oriented like this   And also this way wow So this is kind of all over the 
place beautiful and then a nice I   Mean again nice patina quite subtle right 
I mean so it's a black gray pair of shoes   But with a nice kind of Aging this much all 
the gray all the Navy uh all type of suits Shuttle soda yeah that's it beautiful work um it's 
always a question of balance otherwise we can be   A bit too much and this is another question 
interesting one so asymmetric right and then   A lot of different colors yeah so this mother was 
made at the end of 90s it was made by Olga the was   Named the warrior collection to to the inspiration 
came from the African warrior you know with scars   On the face okay so she create like an incision 
with stitching to pull it I mean to pop up the   The skin over there and put some Edge dye to 
create like you know this effect of bumping yeah   Like a little bit of green and brown I 
mean the dimension of the patina is quite   Actually the the for years and years the the 
way we think we were thinking about creation   Was linked to the skin so that's why first we did 
the patina then we did the the warrior collection   Then Olga creates something interesting which 
was the implants I'm not sure I have mother   Here maybe I'm gonna I'm gonna find it later so 
it was like kind of bumping like small no like   The the guys who do who do implants yeah and 
of course the tattoo yeah so talk to me about   This this is really unique I mean is this laser 
engraved into the upper it's not laser it's a real   Tattoo machine really with the ink demograph 
I'm not sure the names English in this yes The same I mean it's done the same way 
that if you were getting an actual tattoo That's amazing so you could have I mean you guys 
have a tattoo artist that you use or if someone   Wanted to send something out to his favorite 
tattoo artist he could do that as well we   Had collaboration uh we start to assist when we 
launched this technique uh and we do um quite uh   Regularly yeah we do new collection of drawings 
made by tattoo artists really yeah so available   For special for our customers uh which yeah it's 
uh it's interesting it's amazing and is this color   Then painted on afterwards or is that actually 
everything is ink made at the end of the shoe  

Okay just before the passenger so when we lose 
patina we're dispatching up over we do not cover   The statue because the ink is something different 
yeah this one is nice too with a very empty uh   A lot of uh like a big big tattoo 
wow look at that I mean we did a shoe Very cool boots   With a octopus really wrapping all the all 
the all the legs like that's just super cool It's fascinating what else I mean so where does 
the bespoke process start then so the bespoke   Process starts usually that you usually uh install 
I we set up a meeting with our sales associate we   Are um so yeah I mean is a global brand so you 
have a lot of stores we have a lot of stores   Indeed uh actually we we became a global brand 
around the 2010 or 12 I don't remember exactly   When we decided to uh to take over all traditional 
Taylor house okay so um decided to uh to bow to   Buy Anis Ernest of course uh which is a very young 
pleasure icon in French yeah Taylor and uh that's   Great because today um we are maybe the only Brown 
and I'm not sure about that but I would say uh one   Of the few Brands who is able to do bespoke from 
head to toe yeah when I say bespoke it's really   Bespoke tailoring is real craft man uh they do 
uh they take the measurement of the body and   They start from a blank page of paper like we do 
when we when we start the process of bespoke so   We we are covering almost all the area 
where we have stores so meaning a U.S of   Course uh UK or Germany Dubai I just 
came from back from Dubai Japan Asia   Is complicated today but we are we are 
strong in China Singapore Hong Kong Korea   And Australia Australia is a very far yeah so 
it's complicated to go for bispo yet but we'll   See yeah so we are we schedule uh we schedule a 
session every three months for example I would   Be in U.S and so when we start meeting a customer 
we first need to take the measurement and to speak   About the project uh for me it's very important 
to spend time to be sure that I understand the   Customer because again we start from a blank page 
of paper so it's very difficult in a few minutes   To understand who you are and what you want so 
for that we need to to sit in a uh not seat but   To to to take time to discuss to to learn how to 
know each other to be sure that we work together   Bespoke is not ordering a perfume if you want 
to buy uh we do a lot of exclusive things of   The rack we do all the patina you can we can 
do special others so when you do bespoke it's   Important to have the customer involved in the 
process because it's a long process yeah it's a   Process who require at least three meetings 
because the first one for the measurements   Uh solo meeting three months later for a mock-up 
and after the radiation of all the details and   And so on the third meeting for the delivery and 
I'm insisting about the meeting because we want   To be sure that the the shoe with the river 
is perfect so we want to meet the customer we   Don't ship the shoes really okay for for this 
focus on at least for the first player yeah so   If the customer is not enjoying this process at 
the end it's a fear well it's certainly something  

To be enjoyed and relished because I mean anyone 
that's committed to the bespoke process I think   The process in and of itself is one something that 
gives the final product its Integrity but it's   Also part of the experience of bespoke is going 
through that process and enjoying it yeah and   So you're taking the measurements so I'm taking 
the measurements uh I'm taking the measurements   I'm seeing you again the customer to with a 
mock-up and for the degree I I I'm so that's my   Yeah say um customary oriented part of the 
job so after my commercial part which is   Uh do to me Lucas and so on when I'm back in 
the workshop I'm I'm focusing on the on the   Last making and it's very important to to to 
explain you that French maker usually likes to   Control everything so we do everything on 
site okay so I start by making the last of my   Customer so when I take the measurement I maybe 
I will show you later how I did the measurement   But we see you have like a the shape of the food 
some perimeter they can have at specific points   Um I'll take some note to remind me how to put the 
volume when I'm back in the workshop again I you   I'm using this uh big knife the clog maker uh nice 
okay to carve the wooden nests so the wooden last   Will be made uh based on what we discussed with 
the customer so uh just the the last will include   The the the shape of the toe the proportion of 
the body of the customer it's really important   To match the the balance yeah find the good 
balance then once the last is made uh we will   Lose your per based on the last so really 
everything is done here on site right I mean   So that it goes back to the integrity and the 
authenticity is that what's interesting about   Berluti and you know certainly amongst the 
French shoemakers is how much more tightly   Controlled everything is right than maybe what 
you find elsewhere it's very important especially   Especially when you go that much into detail 
because you have so many ways to do mistakes yeah   Uh so it's yeah it's really important to 
control not control it's not the question of   Uh uh I trust you know you guys but it's sometimes 
misunderstanding or interpretation of the meaning   Of scenes but there's so many just obscure 
details right I mean I would imagine that on any   Given week or any given month there's no two shoes 
that are even remotely alike one another and so I   Close communication right from you and then 
amongst the team is critical to making sure   That those really one-of-a-kind Visions are 
realized exactly so let me show you maybe   Um how we start the process like uh by uh covering 
the wooden yes that'd be great okay yeah thank you So we use this this tool which is 
a very traditional tool in France So this is where you start to refine that 
shape she can draw directly in 3D that's a   Good way to see the beauty of the pattern use 
the the iron you know to Virgin yeah all those   Things takes time it's true that even if today 
everybody do does patina that's something very   Uh very strong for Verity DNA well August 
was the first yeah yeah for sure for sure