These two points can not be separated from the pure hand-made by Italian shoemakers.
Modern assembly line production pursues high speed, high output and qualified quality. The pursuit of hand-made is perfection, and every pair of shoes produced is complete in leather, comfortable in shoe type and high in quality. Manual customization is even better. Perfection is the meaning of handmade shoes.
Italian handmade shoes will first draw the style of the shoes they want to make on the last, which is more suitable for the foot shape after production.
Shoes have a long history. Looking through all the history books, it is impossible to know who came up with and made shoes, but you will find that in the whole history of shoe development, there is a group that appears repeatedly, and this group is Italians. As early as 500 years ago, Italian shoemakers were no longer satisfied with the existing materials and began to try to use animal bags on their feet. At this time, the fate of leather shoes and Italy came into being.
In Italy's Apennine Peninsula (alias: Italian Peninsula), the first batch of leather workers came out from here, and then they became famous all over Europe. Of course, the earliest handicraft workshops also appeared in Italy. Today, the manufacturing technology of leather shoes has not changed much. Generation after generation, the history of Italian shoemaking has lasted for hundreds of years. What is even more incredible is that about 60% of the shoe-making workshops in Italy still insist on making shoes by hand or semi-hand.
Not only in China, but also all over the world, under the impact of high and new technology, countless skills passed down are gradually lost, and mass production and mass manufacturing are the development of the times. Traditional handicrafts are labeled as intangible cultural heritage and sent to museums. Turning around, we can see that about 60% people in Italy still insist on making shoes by hand, and hundreds of years of history and tradition are cherished by Italians.
"If the shoes fit, the feet will be forgotten." Although this sentence is simple, it tells the essence of "shoe philosophy"-only when shoes and feet reach a comfortable tacit understanding can feet get real freedom, which is the golden value of shoes and the aesthetic peak of shoes.
-Indian philosopher Osho, "When Shoes Fit"
This sentence is also the essence of Italian handmade shoes. Comfortable wearing is the biggest feature of every handmade shoe, and it is also the most important point of Italian shoes. Wear it, and you will sneer at those shoes that only pursue beauty. A pair of suitable shoes is not only beautiful in appearance, but also comfortable to wear.
Every pair of shoes printed with "made in Italy" is a performance, and the inheritors of this performance are constantly emerging.
I was lucky enough to visit Alico when I was on a business trip. Alico's workshop is located in Montebelluna, a small town around the Italian Alps, just over 40 kilometers away from Venice. This is a shoemaking town, where hundreds of handicraft workshops and factories gather.
It is not surprising why a shoemaking town has formed here. Venice needed a lot of wood when it was built, and the Alps were not far away, so a large number of loggers were hired to cut trees up the mountain. Such a hard and tiring job requires very strict shoes, not only to meet the requirements of wear resistance and durability, but more importantly, to protect barefoot and prevent slipping. So in order to meet these conditions, the early outdoor hiking shoes were made here and have been used as prototypes ever since.
Alico's factory is not big, and half of the dozen workers are old shoemakers. "Young people have no patience to do this." During the visit, a stubborn old man complained. He thinks I'm here to learn from my teacher. Come on, young people nowadays are very patient.
The whole factory smells of leather. Seven or eight old shoemakers are busy at their handmade tables. Small hammers, cutters, shoe cones, spikes and several unknown shoemaking tools are scattered on the table.
There is a big table in front of the shoemakers. The table is full of leather cut by the Foundation, most of which is cowhide. The old shoemaker comes from time to time to choose the whole cowhide of the right size to make shoes. In the process of shoemaking, these old craftsmen are unsmiling and absorbed. They are creating a work of art. On the right side of the handmade table and leather table, there is a long shoe cabinet, which contains all the shoes made in the past.
In the process of continuous improvement and inheritance, Alico hiking shoes have all the essentials of hiking adventure shoes.
The fabric is made of full-head cowhide, and the upper is waterproof, breathable and warm.
Sole adopts big V sole, made of Vibram material, which has strong grip and is wear-resistant and non-slip.
Italian hiking shoes and leather shoes are recognized as the best in the world. In addition to shoemaking technology, there is another important reason. Leather used in Italian shoemaking is the best leather. Many luxury jewelry brands were born in Italy, and Italians are undoubtedly experts in leather. The quantity of high-quality leather in the world is very limited. These shoe-making workshops and factories in Italy will select the first batch, leaving the best leather, and the old craftsmen will make the best leather shoes.
For ordinary leather, he will only use the top layer, because some natural textures will be seen in the hair follicles. Alico made hiking shoes from whole cowhide.
On 20 16, Alico hiking shoes were introduced to Xidi, which can be seen in Xidi, and some babies also have them.