We are very happy to once again invite you to the world’s largest open event for classic shoes, the London Super Trunk Show, organized by Shoegazing and The Shoe Snob. In the middle of London on Saturday April 7 we gather more than 10 brands from all over the world, interesting partners, there will be the World Championships in Shoe Shining, and the first World Championships in Shoemaking will have it’s award ceremony and competition shoes displayed. Below all info about the event.

Location: The Music Room, 26 South Molton Lane, Mayfair, London

Date: Saturday April 7 2018

Full schedule for the day:

10.00-11:00 Trunk show VIP opening (150 pre-registered visitors, register by e-mailing supertrunkvip@gmail.com. It will state here if it’s full.)

11:00-19:00 Trunk show open for the public, FREE OF CHARGE AND NO REGISTRATION NEEDED. Exhibitions with Barbanera, Clematis Ginza, Jsep (Kiten, Kanpekina, Matsumoto, Miyagi Kogyo), J. FitzPatrick, Mario Bemer, Myrqvist, Norman Vilalta, Paolo Scafora, The Sabot (Andrés Sendra, Antonio Meccariello, Joe Works, Yohei Fukuda) and TLB/Skolyx. Also exhibitions with the event’s main partner Saphir (shoe care), partners Exquisite Trimmings (accessories) and Mes Chaussettes Rouges (socks), plus shoemaking championships partner Master Shoemakers (book). On display are all competition shoes in the World Championships in Shoemaking.

15.00-15.30 Final of the World Championships in Shoe Shining in cooperation with Saphir, 1st prize shoes from Loake (qualification for the competition will following week)

17:30-17:50 Award ceremony for the World Championships in Shoemaking, in collaboration with Kirby Allison’s Hanger Project and Master Shoemakers. The three podium positions are presented. In the prize pool is £6,000 (€6,700 / $8,000), plus being exhibited at Isetan Men’s, Tokyo, and at other places around the world.

19.00 Event closes.

Facebook event page where you’ll get all the latest updates can be found here. We appreciate any help with spreading the word about the event! The hashtag used before, during and after the event in social media is #supertrunk.

The London Super Trunk Show will take place at the same place as last year, a 1,150 square meter (3 800 square feet) venue in the heart of Mayfair called The Music Room. The address is 26 South Molton Lane, close to the Bond Street subway station and Oxford Street. Here in a large room on the second floor we once again gather some of the most interesting shoe brand’s around today, all of whom are not sold in the UK. Some were part of last year’s event and returns, some are new. As always we strive to get a good mix of types of shoes, price ranges, origin and so on. We who organize it is Jesper Ingevaldsson of the shoe blog Shoegazing and Justin FitzPatrick of The Shoe Snob blog. Last year’s event was a big success with 800 visitors from all over the world coming to see, try, buy and order shoes (shoes were bought for £53,500/€62,000), meet fellow shoe aficianados, see interesting scene events and have a good time in general. The super trunk really became a great meeting place for people from various parts of the industry and for shoe interested customers. It will be open for everyone between 11.00-19.00, but we’ll also have a VIP opening for 150 pre-registered already at 10.00 (e-mail supertrunkvip@gmail.com to reserve a spot for you and your friends. It will state here if it’s full).

Here’s a brief summary of all the exhibitors (more info about them all below). Barbanera is a charismatic brand based in Tuscany, Italy, with boldly designed Goodyear welted shoes that cost around £430/€500. Clematis Ginza is the brand of Keitaro Takano, Japanese trained bespoke shoemaker who makes the finest bespoke and MTO shoes, plus has its own RTW range. The host Justin “The Shoe Snob” FitzPatrick exhibit his own brand J. FitzPatrick Footwear, a mix between bold and classics priced around £330/€380. Florence based Mario Bemer is going from clarity to clarity with his fine RTW/MTO and bespoke offering. Myrqvist is the Swedish webshop Herrstil’s own brand, with a classic range of Goodyear welted shoes for less than £180/€200.

Barcelona based Norman Vilalta started as a bespoke shoemaker but now also offers a progressive range of RTW shoes that cost around £700/€820, plus new top RTW range that is made to bespoke standard. Paolo Scafora from Naples, Italy, makes hand welted premium RTW with a lot of flair and excellent patinas, price is about £880/€1000. The Swedish based webshop The Sabot has an impressive range of shoes in their stable, a part from their Antonio Meccariello-made Private Label brand, they have Meccariello’s Dux shoes, Yohei Fukuda, Andrés Sendra and Joe Works. We have Skolyx who will introduce their own Private Label budget shoes and the new Spanish midrange brand TLB at the event. Last but not least we are happy to have Jsep, Japanese Shoes Export Platform, part of the event, which brings the four fabulous Japanese brands Matsumoto, Miyagi Kogyo, Kanpekina and Kiten to the show.

All brands will bring a lot of shoes to display and to try on and all will take orders, plus that many of them will sell shoes directly at the event. For those who offer bespoke services you can reserve an appointment in advance, or take the plunge and get measured and order on site.

The ones making this event possible is our partners. Main partner is the famous shoe care brand Saphir, whose premium range Medaille d’Or by many is seen as the best shoe care products in the world. Partners are the British online store Exquisite Trimmings, who has a wide range of premium accessories for men, and the sock retailer Mes Chaussettes Rouges, known for selling some of the finest socks in the world. These three will also exhibit at the event and bring a bunch of their products to sell.

Apart from the exhibitions we’ll also have a small stage area where as always some really interesting things will happen. In the afternoon at 15.00 there will be the final of the World Championships in Shoe Shining in collaboration with Saphir, where the winner will receive a pair of shoes from Loake. Three finalists who has made it through the qualifications that opens in a few days (more info below, and in the qualification post) will receive one Loake 1880 Aldwych mahogany, a can of Saphir Medaille d’Or Pate de Lux and Mirror Gloss, water, brush and polishing cloth and have 20 minutes to polish the shoe as beautiful as possible.

Also, as we have revealed all the details of earlier in this article, we are organising the first World Championships in Shoemaking, in collaboration with the webshop Kirby Allison’s Hanger Project and the book project Master Shoemakers. In the prize pool is £6,000 (€6,700 / $8,000) and a chance to be showcased for shoe lovers around the world. The 43 black plain cap toe oxford competition shoes will be showcased at the venue, and at 17.30 at the stage area we will present the three podium positions, including the first World Champion.

The event is open to all and is completely free of charge. We have a VIP opening in the morning between 10.00-11.00 with 150 pre-registered visitors (register at supertrunkvip@gmail.com, it will be stated here if full). The aim is to get visitors spread out a bit, so it’s not totally crowded at 11 when it opens for everyone.

Please follow the Facebook page for the event here where you’ll get all the latest updates, let us know you plan to attend and spread the word. We hope the day will be as successful as last year and that all who comes have a great time. Since it’s a rare occasion to have the possibility to see, try, buy and order shoes from this many brands at the same time, and especially since many of them are quite inaccessible, we hope that once gain not only a lot of people from England will come to London this day but also people from other places in the world will travel in for this occasion. Take the chance to have a weekend in this great city topped up with the London Super Trunk Show.

Hope to see many of you in London on Saturday April 7!

Below some more detailed info about all the exhibitors at the event and the scene happenings:

EXHIBITORS

Barbanera

Barbanera hit the market a few years ago, founded by two Italian pairs of brothers. A bit unorthodox approach to the classic shoe world have gained them recognition worldwide. Barbanera’s shoes are manufactured in the region Tuscany in a factory specialising in Goodyear welted shoes, with leather from some of the finest Italian tanneries. The shoes are with closed channel stitching and a slightly bevelled waist. Their RTW range starts at £430/€500, and at a small upcharge you can have personalised Made to Order shoes made.

The style of Barbanera’s shoes is quite special, as charismatic as the men behind them . Sort of a mix between old school 20’s styles, motorcycle boots, rock n’ roll and western style boots. A lot of suede and a lot of two tone shoes. As many Italian brands they manage to make really comfortable shoes, even if they are in most cases Goodyear welted. Last year many visitors found their shoes highly interesting, and they were one of the brand that had most shoes sold at the event.

Clematis Ginza

Clematis Ginza is the brand of Keitaro Takano, together with the closer Chemi Chiba. The fact that Takano has his background in the small Japanese school that has existed makes his shoes to stand out against many of his European-trained colleagues in Japan. They have their own character, and the quality of the making is very high. It’s easy to understand why Clematis is highly regarded by the Japanese bespoke clients.

Clematis offers two different types of orders for their non-RTW shoes. Semi-bespoke/Made To Measure where they make corrections to standard lasts, and you may choose from the standard models Clematis has, though some pattern changes can also be made. And full bespoke, which means one or more fittings with test shoes and produce a completely individual last, and where model is entirely free to choose. Both variants can be selected to be done with machine stitched sole stitch, so-called 90% handmade, or completely handmade. The price in Japan (expect a bit higher pricing here, due to overseas trunk show) for the semi-bespoke 90% handmade start at £1,100/€1,250 (170,000 yen), they recommend fitting shoe here but it’s not necessary, up to full bespoke that is entirely handmade where prices start at about £2,370/€2,800 (370,000 yen). Prices for all variants can be found on their website.

Clematis will come back to London for a trunk show with Ascot Shoes during fall, so those who order something that needs fitting can have it done at this time.

Clematis also have their RTW range, made by Joe Works. Goodyear welted made to a high standard, in European leathers. Price is around £560/€640 (88,000 yen), which as you will notice at the event is a good price for shoes at this quality. Read a report about Clematis Ginza here. If you are interested in ordering MTM or bespoke, e-mail leather@clematis-ginza.com to reserve an appointment (drop in also possible).

J. FitzPatrick Footwear

The brand of one of the two event hosts, Justin ”The Shoe Snob” FitzPatrick founded his own footwear range J. FitzPatrick Footwear back in 2013, and it has slowly but steadily grown since then. The shoes are Goodyear welted in Spain with closed channel stitching and leathers from well known European tanneries. Justin is constantly working to develop new and modified models, plus continues to develop the making and construction of his shoes, to offer better and better shoes.

J. FitzPatrick’s have some of the classics, but much of the models are modern twists and new interesting patterns, offering something unique to the table. Among other things it’s famous for the very competitably priced button boots and button shoes. Prices start at around £330/€380. He also offers an excellent MTO programme with lots of options available for the relatively small upcharge of £100/€120 for shoes and £125/€150 for boots.

Jsep (Matsumoto, Miyagi Kogyo, Kanpekina, Kiten) Ahead of the upcoming free trade-agreement with EU four Japanese brands are introduced to the European market (with brexit it’s still uncertain what happens in England with this, we’ll see). Jsep, Japan Shoes Export Platform, are introducing Matsumoto, Miyagi Kogyo, Kanpekina and Kiten. We are very excited to have them part of the super trunk show, for the first time showcasing a wide range factory made Japanese shoes to a wider audience in Europe. Make sure to really take the chance and study these up-close, if you visit the event. Here’s a summary of all four brands. Matsumoto makes very well-made shoes with elegant narrow waists and ever so slightly tapered heels, and really well balanced lasts. Leather quality is also good, Matsumoto only uses European leathers from Annonay and Weinheimer. Price is around £530/€600. The shoes of Miyagi Kogyo is often compared to Edward Green, with similar, traditional last shapes and with a similar sole treatment. They also have a nice burnished toe, and attention to detail in the making is excellent for the price. Kogyo’s shoes cost somewhere at £410/€470. Kanpekina mix quite extravagant shoes with more classic models, yet modernised and elegant. Kanpekina are Goodyear welted in general, but do have plans to introduce a brand new hand welted top range that looks more like bespoke than RTW. Price for their regular Goodyear welted range is around £440/€500. The last brand is a bit different, it’s Kiten who makes more casual shoes. They are made with a Bologna construction, a sort of moccasin type, which makes really comfortable shoes, and since they have full rubber outsoles cemented on it doesn’t leak any water. A good compromise between comfort and durability. Price around £260/€300.

Mario Bemer

Mario Bemer started working for his brother Stefano’s company back in 1999. When Stefano Bemer passed away 2012, Mario went on and started his own brand. With him from Bemer came bespoke shoemaker Seiji Miyagawa, they now have built up a small workshop in Florence with some additional staff, and have a business making both bespoke here and RTW/MTO at a factory a bit up north in Tuscany. It’s a small scale production both of them, bespoke are around 50 pairs a year, RTW up towards 1000 pairs.

Mario Bemer’s shoes have a special character which mix the classic Italian style with something more modern and contemporary. Playful designs, well-balanced lasts. Most customers today are American, Chinese and Japanese, so it’s extra interesting to introduce the brand for more people in England now at the super trunk. Prices for RTW start at around £730/€830. Bespoke begins at £2,450/€2,800 (€400 of that is for last creation, removed for consecutive pairs). If you are interested in ordering bespoke, e-mail info@mariobemer.com to reserve an appointment (drop in also possible).

Myrqvist

Myrqvist is a Private Label brand of the Swedish online store Herrstil, who started their shoe initiative in spring 2016 with a campaign on Kickstarter. It was extremely successful, a total of over €70 000 was gained in the campaign and over 400 pairs of shoes were pre-ordered.

They have a close cooperation with the Indian factory and regularly visit it, the same with a tannery in the vicinity where they buy the leather. Apparently, both factories are good both in terms of environmental work and the work environment, which makes them more expensive than many other shoe factories in India, but still cheap compared to Europe. This, in combination with the fact that you do not have the retailer step, enables them to offer affordable shoes.

For only £180/€200 you get Goodyear welted shoes, made of full grain leather with leather board heel stiffeners. They are quite comfortable already from start, compared to many other Goodyear welted brands, making them extra attractive for entry-level segment buyers. The range of models consists of the classics in different leather choices: plain cap toe oxfords, semi brogues, adelaides, chukkas, chelseas, penny loafers and so on. Read a review of Myrqvist here.

Norman Vilalta

Norman Vilalta comes from Argentina, was trained in bespoke shomaking by Stefano Bemer in Italy, and now works from a studio in Barcelona. A couple of years ago he added a RTW range aside his bespoke shoes, which has been quite succesful and are now sold at various stores all around the world.

Norman Vilalta is known for his excellent ways of upgrading and modernising the classic shoe tradition. His eye for design is excellent A mix och classic design with modern, special takes like super heavy rubber soles or a chelsea boots turned into chukkas. With this he has in short time made a quite big imprint on the market for classic shoes. His RTW shoes cost around £700/€820. Recently he also introduced a new RTW range made fully by hand to the same standard as his bespoke shoes. If you are interested in ordering bespoke, e-mail norman@normanvilalta.com to reserve an appointment (drop in also possible).

Paolo Scafora

Paolo Scafora is based in Naples, Italy, and was founded by Gennaro Scafora, who named the company after his son. Today, Paolo Scafora runs the company with his name. They have been known for a very Italian style, with very daring patinas, wide sole edges and a characteristic extremely square toe. In recent years, however, they have developed their style, still distinctly Italian shoes, but with more classically styled last shapes and tighter sole edges. The shoes are hand welted with machine-made sole stitch, and have leather stiffeners both in heel and toe.

Scafora’s prices start at £860/€980 for hand welted models and £970/€1,100 for norvegese. The MTO surcharge is 20% of the base price, which is relatively low. The brand has gained popularity in recent year’s with retailers in many placers over the world nowadays.

The Sabot

The webshop The Sabot offer a wide variety of shoes. Their own Private Label range made by Meccariello are Goodyear welted, have closed channeled soles and a slim bevelled waist, and overall a very high details of the finish for a pair of shoes starting at about £434/€495 (4,800 SEK). They also have Antonio Meccariello’s own range, the Argentum Dux, made to a higher standard with a Goodyear technique that don’t have gemming. Price about £670/€770 (7,500 SEK).

Included in Sabot’s offerings are the RTW range of Japanese Yohei Fukuda. Made to absolute highest standards, hand welted, machine made sole stitch with hand pricked seams, and using the same material in uppers and soles as his bespoke shoes. Price £1,750/€2,000 (19,500 SEK)

The Sabot also sells a small range of shoes from Spanish factory Andrés Sandra, and recently introduced Japanese RTW makers Joe Works to their stable.

TLB / Skolyx

The Swedish retailer Skolyx have made a name of itself through excellent customer service and a wide range of shoes from Spanish brand Yanko. At the super trunk they kick-off two new ventures, one is their own Private Label range of Goodyear welted shoes made in Spain for €199 with high specifications for the price, and the brand new Mallorca-based manufacturer called TLB. You may read more about both these in this post.

Saphir

Saphir is one of the leading premium shoe care product manufacturers in the world. The French brand is owned by Avel, which also has brands like Dasco and La Cordonnerie Anglais under their branch. Well known for both the high quality of care and protection of the products, as well as their ease of use. The standard Saphir range holds a massive amount of products, everything from your regular shoe cream, wax polish, cleaners, impregnation sprays etc to more specialised products like leather dye or leather repair pastes.

Among shoe nerds, they are most famous for their premium shoe care range Saphir Medaille d’Or. Named after the gold medal it received at the International Exhibition in Paris 1925 due to the high quality of the products. The creams and waxes are still today produced by the same recipe, and since then a number of other premium shoe care products has been added to the range. They constantly develop their range, the recently introduced Mirror Gloss wax polish which makes it easier to achieve a real high gloss shine on the toe and heel of your shoes, is one example, a product that instantly regained high popularity. All Medaille d’Or products contain only natural products: bees wax, carnauba wax, essence of turpentine, lanolin, mink oil, neatsfoot, vegetal materials and so on.

Exquisite Trimmings

Founded by Shaya Green, Exquisite Trimmings is a London-based online store offers an impressive range of accessories and clothing, from many of the most acclaimed brands in the world. Here you find ties from among others E.G. Cappelli, Calabrese and Drake’s, bags from Frank Clegg and Simpson London, umbrellas from Francesco Maglia and Mario Talarico, and much, much more. In some cases, like ties and pocket squares, Exquisite Trimmings has also developed a number of own products sold under their own name, offering great quality for the price.

Mes Chaussettes Rouges

About 8 years ago the two French Jacques Tiberghien and Vincent Metzger started Mes Chaussettes Rouges, with the aim to develop the world’s finest socks shop. They now have an impressive range of socks, every sock type and every colour you can imagine, from brands like Mazarin, Bresciani, Gammarelli, Gallo and others. They have it all available in their online shop with worldwide delivery, as well as in their store in Paris at 9 rue César Franck. This is the first time this reputable store visits England to showcase and sell their offerings.

SCENE PROGRAMME

World Championships in Shoe Shining

The success is back. At 15.00 during the event day we invite you to follow the World Championships in Shoe Shining in collaboration with Saphir, where the winner will receive a pair of shoes from Loake. The coming week (here’s the qualification article) we’ll open the a qualification round where people can send in a picture of a well polished shoe, from these a jury consisting of us organizers and representatives from Saphir and Loake will pick three finalists, who will battle it out during the London Super Trunk Show.

At the final, one Loake 1880 Aldwych in mahogany is to be polished as beautiful as possible. We’ll not only look at the highest shine, but the most beautiful polish work is rewarded. The finalists will have a can of Saphir Medaille d’Or Pate de Lux in the colour of choice, water, a brush, a polishing cloth and a nylon cloth, and they have 20 minutes to polish the shoe. Last year’s winner, Yuya Hasegawa from Japan, performed astonishing results in that short time. The winner will be titled the World Champion in Shoe Shining 2018, and gets to keep the shoe he (or she) has polished and its sibling, receives a diploma and a kit with shoe care products from Saphir.

World Championships in Shoemaking

The World Championships in Shoemaking is organised by Shoegazing and The Shoe Snob, in collaboration with the webshop Kirby Allison’s Hanger Project and the book project Master Shoemakers (book will be available to buy at the venue). 43 contestants from 6 continents have registered for the championships, and we are likely to see some amazing shoes made for it. Here in the official call for competition you can find all the details in how it unfolds. But to summarise it, the contestants will make a black cap toe oxford with a single leather sole, hand welted with handmade sole stitch. The criteria that will be judged are the degree of difficulty and the execution of the making, but also the overall design/aesthetics. 1st prize is £3,000, 2nd £2,000 and 3rd £1,000, plus all podium placed shoes will be exhibited at the Isetan Men’s department store in Tokyo, Japan, and at other stores in various locations around the world, We will create a small exhibition with the top three shoes, which will be on tour around the globe. Which locations will be presented during the award ceremony.

In the jury who will review the shoes the day before the event are several bespoke shoemakers and professionals within the industry, preliminary jury members are Jim McCormack, Yohei Fukuda, Nicholas Templeman, Keitaro Takano (Clematis Ginza) and Mario Bemer. But to also add a slightly different view organisers and shoe experts Jesper Ingevaldsson of Shoegazing and Justin FitzPatrick of The Shoe Snob are part of the jury, and the two sponsors who are making this event possible: Edmund Schenecker who is a bespoke shoe customer and shoe nerd, Kirby Allison, founder of The Hanger Project, and Gary Tok, author of Master Shoemakers.

All the 43 competition shoes will be on display at the super trunk show, and at 17.30 at the stage area we will announce the top three shoes, and hence the first world champion in shoemaking.

Welcome to the London Super Trunk Show on Saturday April 7, we are once again looking forward to a day to remember! Spread the word, share this article and invite people with the Facebook event. See you there!