This year we partnered with Moncole magazine to identify top makers in the UK. View their maker.me profiles on the Makers Monday website.
Inspired by his well-turned-out grandfather and a love of men’s clothing – and shoes in particular – led Miguel de Almeida to start his own footwear brand in 2013. Since then Marcus De has shown commitment to local manufacturing, centering the process in one of the world’s traditional capitals of shoemaking: Northampton.
Q&A WITH MIGUEL DE ALMEIDA, MANAGING DIRECTOR
Can you explain how you make your shoes?
I design directly onto the last [this is the foot-shaped form used in traditional shoemaking], not drawing in 2D as is often the case. The patterns are then taken from the last and hand-cut from leather; these components are stitched together by the ladies in the closing room. Crucial is the process we call lasting: this is where the leather that has been stitched together is laid over the last and pulled tightly into the desired shape.
How do you source your leather?
For the upper materials of the shoes I source leathers from the best tanneries in the world, depending on what type of leather is needed. All the shoes that I design use Angus, so that comes from Scotland, but we also use calf leather from Italy and specialist leather such as horse skin from the US. I also decided that we would have all of our shoelaces made locally.
Why go to such trouble?
I thought it was a bit nonsensical that we managed to make an entire shoe here and then had to import laces – made on British machines by the way – from Italy, Spain or Portugal. So I managed to get a small factory in Leicester to make all the waxed cotton laces for our shoes.
How important is it for you to keep these skills local?
I studied shoe and boot-making many years ago here in England and for me the whole concept of the company is that we are an English brand making fine English shoes by English craftsmen and craftswomen. This extends to all the things we make; even our shoeboxes are handmade and our logo on them is hand foiled in Leicester.
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