There is a secret to men’s footwear that doesn’t apply to women. Thankfully for our feet and our daily sense of feeling good, we always choose comfort over crippling, toe curling fast-fashion brogues. But that’s not to say we don’t enjoy a bit of style, elegance and craftsmanship which only a handful of brands actually offer, prime of which is still J.M. Weston.
“The philosophy of the house of J.M. Weston has always been based on two very specific values: know-how and creativity,” says Christopher Descours, J.M. Weston’s ceo. Originating from a craft-based tradition dating back to 1891, Westons have become an iconic shoe for the man who tries to bridge classicism with original style without going overboard. Since the early days, the French company’s shoes have been made by hand, respecting high quality values. Precise, lively, skilful, the craftsmen’s gestures are an identical reproduction of the techniques initiated by the founder Eugene Blanchard, over a century ago, in the heart of the Limousin Region in France. Today, J.M. Weston is the only shoemaker with a sole leather tannery, and highly qualified master-craftsmen are attached to maintaining the intervention of the hand at each stage of the manufacturing process.
The work that goes into making a pair of J.M. Weston reflects what makes them so distinctive, “A work of the hands, where every step sets the way for the next one: a quality finishing being the golden rule along the way,” explains Descours. It all begins in the tannery, where raw hides are cleaned and the hairs are removed in a process known as ‘river soaking’. The hides are then immersed, one by one, into basins filled with vegetable tannins, an ancestral process which has become unique in the world. The hides are then left to rest for around 12 months in the leather pit, filled with pieces of ground oak bark, before being slowly dried.
So finicky is Weston that only three per cent of the skins proposed are retained to be used for the shoe’s upper. From these the master-cutter (yes, they still exist) selects the finest parts that will eventually be turned into the pieces that find themselves on the shelves of many J.M. Weston boutiques across the world – each a delicate creation that brings together the art of shoemaking. At the end, between 150 and 190 handlings are necessary for the creation of a pair of Weston shoes. “[It’s] all in all a year of work that brings an incomparable quality to J.M. Weston soles,” says Descours.
As Weston entered the twenty-first century it found itself challenged by newer, fresher and trendier brands that still manage to preserve high quality in its manufacturer. The tastes of men also changed. To take up the task Weston had to bring in an industry big gun by the name of Michel Perry. A shoe designer with widespread acclaim, Perry has been reinterpreting some of Weston’s legendary styles since 2000, bringing a contemporary note to them and evolving new designs based on the original styles.
Case-in-point is the shoemaker’s new more modern Flore collection and casual chic Supple Fit collection or Perry’s first collections for Weston, the rather grand sounding Beaubourg line, with its revamped take on Weston’s signature punched hole detail and stitching which has been added to a longer more modern silhouette. Perry’s other lines namely the dandy-esque Aston collection and the Savile models as well as the Classique shoes harkens back to a time when men’s shoes were a true mark of his stature and financial comfort.
J.M Weston is also seeing the sense in expanding its portfolio of products into the lucrative accessories market, even though its foray has been thus far relatively coy. A number of shoe styles have been adapted for women and, importantly though late in the game, J.M. Weston has only just recently completed a full line of elegant leather goods, including briefcases, travel bags, and belts – all created using the same expertise that makes the shoes so exceptional. You may want to also go for the special customised orders that provide a rare and remarkable opportunity to refine your own style, with the assurance of a perfect J.M. Weston fit.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the shoes, however, is the variety of sizes available, including width. As the only ones to offer a selection of three to seven widths per half-size, these shoes feel custom-made to the size of the foot. If the idiom of being able to tell a man’s characteristics by the shoes he wears holds true, a J.M. Weston owner would simply be defined as exacting, meticulous and elegant in every way.
Contacts
J.M. Weston Beirut
Beirut, Lebanon
Tel + 961 1 971 267
HYPERLINK "http://www.jmweston.com" www.jmweston.com
J.M. Weston Dubai
Deira, UAE
Tel + 9714 232 6366
HYPERLINK "http://www.jmweston.com" www.jmweston.com
