LUXE
“NO ONE HAS A PAIR OF FEET IN THE STRICT SENSE OF THE TERM, ALTHOUGH WE THINK NOTHING ABOUT GOING OUT AND BUYING A PAIR OF SHOES”
>> While the response in Asia has been overwhelming, there are no plans to set up a store here. The focus — and challenge — is always in achieving quality in each pair and to be exceptional without changing too much, says Glasgow Jr. Designs today, such as the midnight blue Stingrey, are tweaked from styles taken from the company’s 40-year-old archives. This latest style costs GBP4,000 and is only available through its bespoke service.
The late George Cleverley oversees a younger George Glasgow Sr
It takes three to five years to master the craft, which is why not many people are making bespoke shoes anymore, says Glasgow Jr. Over the years, the industry has shrunk from more than 20 bespoke shoemakers to only a handful, with the likes of Foster & Son, James Taylor & Son, and John Lobb.
MUD TREATMENT
An exclusive material used in a Cleverley bespoke pair is Russian leather, known for its ability to resist water and repel insects. In 1786, the Metta Catharina ship carrying a cargo of hemp and leather was bound for the Mediterranean from the Russian port of St Petersburg. It sank in a storm. Two centuries later, divers recovered hundreds of hides from the wreckage. They were well- preserved after being soaked with black mud for 200 years. The recovered hides were then tanned by soaking in pits of willow bark and curried in birch oil, bringing out a unique aroma and texture. The first pair of shoes made from the limited hide, exclusively owned by Cleverley, was for the Prince of Wales.
However, the demand for bespoke shoes continues to grow. Cleverley’s current customers include Manolo Blahnik. “What sets us apart from other designers is that we’re a designer-shoemaker,” says Glasgow Jr. “You’re going to department stores now, where the label on the bottom of the shoe says ‘handmade’ but it’s not handmade; they might have put in the laces by hand or something. A genuinely handmade shoe is where a machine doesn’t touch it.” His father also shares the same sentiments: “No one has a pair of feet in the strict sense of the term, although we think nothing about going out and buying a pair of shoes.” On a late morning at a trunk show held at The Four Seasons hotel’s royal suite in Singapore, Glasgow Jr and staff shoemaker Teemu Leppanen attended to a gentleman who had travelled from Malaysia for a first visit. There was no other customer around, as tradition would have it. The team measured the contours of his foot and took him through a wide selection of fabric, shades and styles. The gentleman was advised that he would have to wait six months for a fitting, and longer to see the finished product. He understood. After all, changing trends may come on the heels of time, but a Cleverley pair is made to last.
78 88 JETGALA
New styles, such as the two-tone tan and racing-green brogue shoe, retain original Cleverley designs
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