Jones Bootmakers – Sourcing, Style & Substance
18-05-2015
The JB store in St Christopher’s Place, near Bond Street selected for the launch had the preview collection arranged as if the customer were viewing it to buy, with hints of shop styling to suit a more autumnal theme. Even though there was a weighting towards designs more suited to colder weather and outdoor pursuits, there was in fact a lot of year-round designs, including daywear, eveningwear, city/ office attire or weekend casual. Good design lends itself to being less seasonally challenged and is also a much more commercially viable item to stock.
These days we are being encouraged to know the source of what we wear, as an additional purchasing responsibility. With shoes, provenance is particularly important, knowing that the UK struggles with the right type of shoe leather. My understanding was enhanced by Michael’s greater knowledge. It isn’t just because we don’t allow our cow’s time to mature (EU controls on risk of disease means our cows never mature into the time allowed for the hides to become higher quality), there’s “just too many stretch-marks so the leather is used more for upholstery.” It’s also the fact that the better quality shoe comes from sourcing a single piece of flawless leather, which is harder to find and work in the UK.
What is happening in the world of European shoe manufacturing I asked? In a nutshell, rising costs in Italy in particular, outside of the hi-end, is leading to a decline in manufacturing. “Most of Jones Bootmakers’ skins and upper leather comes from Italy – calfskin for leather uppers predominantly and Lambskin (soft and flexible) for main part of shoe, with Spain and Portugal (men’s shoes in particular) the next main countries. And some Chinese manufacturing with skins imported from Italy. We try to keep a tight reign on the price points of European sourced and manufactured shoes to the £80-90 level, with most of the manufacturing done in Portugal and Italy, and Spain for ladies ranges.” They also source some leather from China, with a price point slightly lower. Michael is keen to point out that their shoes do not have man-made fabrics on the linings, and use pigskin, known as fiore, (referred to as ‘flower’ by Italians, owing to the scalloped edging in the finishing).
One of the things I found a little surprising was the organic nature of the designs. They are based not on an in-house team of designers, but on-going intuitive response to the marketplace, massaged by considerable accumulated wisdom from successfully delivering strong designs over many years and seasons. Michael was formerly CEO of Gordon Scott, taken over by Jones Bootmakers in 2002 (now owned by Mackintosh Fashion with around a thousand stores globally). The design ideas may come from an eclectic array of influences and adaptations of shoe design components, deliberately drawing from classic styles from the past. What this actually means is that more often than not they will simply come from his head including, “designs that are more organic, a synthesis of different styles, a look, a shape – not necessarily just from shoes.”
I asked what are the key elements that determine what makes a good shoe. “When we are putting our collections together the first main criteria is eye appeal. What is appealing at any one time is evolving. Certain shoes have a shelf life, even the most successful shoes. Often, it is their essence that is carried forward. Without the eye appeal, the second criteria of value and price doesn’t have any bearing.” And of course, with all this in place, the fit has to suit the customer. This is something seen with 50s and 70s style shoes, having a renaissance with a key attribute (think brothel creeper, 70s platform sole, stiletto heel etc.…) re-worked. This characteristic is mirrored within the existing AW15 designs in the women’s ‘Winters Bone’ animal print influences, with the 50s loafer and creeper styling incorporated in the look. And yet with a twist – it’s gender borrowing too. Apparently one of the more popular styles is ‘Borrowed from the Boys’ in-tune with the agender styling flagged by WGSN and delivered onto the high street.
Deano
Why do some shoe styles last longer than others? Michael believes it’s much more difficult now than the classic styles of the past, as “there isn’t the same singular pressure to have the same shapes as before, such as stilettos or pointed shoes. Now the diversity of interest and available ranges makes it harder for individual styles to be sustained.” It takes something like an almost universal industry revival in a fashion era – witness the media hype associated with the 70s revival, (and featured in the Retro Return range for Jones AW15) for certain styles to be considered fashionable again. Trying to revive this shoe styling trend without the hype could miss the mark and fall flat on its face. And yet, it is the DNA of certain styles that endure and the ones silently waiting in the wings to be revived. What constitutes a great shoe, a design classic? “A hard question. Something that could be described as a city shoe – the brogue for example, has an essence that can be both smart and casual at the same time.”
I had a privileged ‘walk-through’ of the latest collection with Michael focusing selfishly mainly on the men’s range. Like a museum curator, proudly showing new masterpieces to adorn the walls, stopping momentarily to zero-in on the artistic feature that makes the shoe work and still inspires him; the gum-soled Chukka boot (£120), new for this season; Liftmon for the younger market; the Folk Adventure range with the Hiker, with ski-loop design components (£110). One pair of shoes had cleverly worked three textures into one style – burnished calf, printed grain and wax suede – all in keeping with the tactile fabric choices influencing designers today.
Folk Adventure
On the tour, Michael held up a shoe to illustrate a point closer to his own aesthetic preferences and one I happened to share. “What’s more interesting to look at? This two-tone leather burnished finish, or…?” And to his credit, he didn’t point to, or explicitly state the contrasting option, but it was clear. Plain, is plain. For a burnished finish, for this particular shoe, the leather is tanned in burgundy colour, with a black dye put on the surface, with a chemical rubbed on top to take the black away. ‘Burnished’ is the revolving brush that puts heat on it, leaving (if desired), an antique patina look. The ‘Shard’ men’s range, includes Kilowatt (£89), Kristophe (£110) a slightly sharper, longer look and burnished; Kantalope (£149) and Dambusters (£129).
Kristophe
It was great to hear the exciting new developments planned that I gleaned was also dear to Michael’s heart. The Spring16 collection will include a ‘Made in Britain range’ working with Northampton factories, “where the heart of the British shoe base is.” I reserved the opportunity to do a follow-up with Michael as the design and manufacturing for JB’s British made shoes comes together in the next few months. And even did my bit to persuade Michael to go along to the forthcoming ‘Make it British’ event in June. Who knows, there may be some mutually beneficial UK shoe-shenanigans we can all benefit from in the not too distant future. Mine’s a nine-and-a-half Chelsea boot. What’s yours?
By Paul Markevicius
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