Tracking the Long Journey of Your Pair's Prototypes

1. Designer Shoes: Tracking the Long Journey of Your Pair's Prototypes

2. Nowadays, purchasing designer shoesonline is so easy. All you need to do is to visit the online store, choose the design, and pay via credit card. Then, your new kickers will be delivered to your doorstep. You can start wearing them to the special event you have in mind or the office, for your daily work. But have you ever wondered how the first-ever pair of your shoe design came to life? Here's how most of today's designer prototypes—from where your leather shoes were based—came to be.

3. The process differs depending on the company and on the craftsman. But in most cases, the process starts from conceptualisation. The designer first contemplates on what the shoe design should embody. If he making business shoes? Does he want them to be usable for both formal and semi-casual occasions? As it is considered an age-old craft, sufficient time is used in the design stage alone. Some companies, particularly those that maintain tradition, submit designs to the head designer or founder. These are then deliberated upon and sometimes re-worked before they become the actual final patterns.

4. The next step in the creation of prototype designer shoes is the selection of material. While mass manufacturers base the kind of material on what is available and cost-effective, most traditional shoe makers based the decision on the idea behind the shoe. As it is considered art, the concept must be carried over from the design to the actual, tangible product. Therefore, leather selection is stringent. Companies that make customised pairs often hand pick leather. It is also important to note that the material used for both shoes must come from a single piece of leather to make them as identical as possible. The chosen material is also hand tested for strength and consistency, as soon as it passes the test of aesthetics.

5. In some cases, the material used in making custom leather shoesare also tested in varying temperatures. They are subjected to extreme heat and cold, ensuring it stays strong and consistent. Leather bonding is tested in these extreme environments so the shoes will stay as they are, regardless of the temperatures they are worn in.

6. The next step to the creation of prototype business shoes is the preparation of patterns. Most traditional shoemakers entrust this step to veteran pattern-makers who have decades of experience. The chief cobbler then takes over and crafts the pair by hand, using simple but effective tools. The shoes are created and shined or treated for final enhancements. Now you have the prototype—the father—of your shoes. But not so fast!

7. Once the prototype designer shoes are created, they are submitted to one final step: rigorous quality control. This is what sets most custom manufacturers from "by hand" shoemakers. A prototype should be able to win the final quality check by all parties involved in the creation. And if they were created for a particular person, for example, a celebrity, then that person must approve them too. Only then will they officially become the first pair ever of a new design. This is a long and rigorous journey toward the prototype but traditional shoemakers are willing to continue the practice. This ensures that all other succeeding pairs—including yours—will be as good as the prototype, if not better.