Santoni: The holy grail for shoe freaks

In the modern world, not everything faster is better. Sure, we like our download speeds and our pizza delivery to be lightning quick; but not necessarily our fashion.

Santoni, a leading luxury shoe brand from Italy, lives by a different creed, and a different speed: Fatto a Mano su Misura, which means “handmade bespoke,” refers to a special level of service and attention to detail. And it’s something that makes their brand a distinctive addition to Shangri-La Plaza’s East Wing.

Launching the brand last week, Asia area manager Andrea Casavecchia was in town to show us how Italian pride in artisan craftsmanship is what makes Santoni special.

To illustrate the point, he brought along shoe artisan Francesco De Santis from the company’s factory and birthplace in Macerata, a small, medieval-era town in central Italy. De Santis demonstrated the first steps of fatto a mano su misura, which is to trace and measure the clients’ feet on a sheet of paper. From the drawings and measurements, there is the meticulous creation of a wooden last, used as the model to construct the bespoke shoe, or the “build.” That involves hand tooling, hand stitching, and even hand painting by a team of artisans, some of them art students. The result? A very unique pair of shoes. The timetable? From drawing board to your feet: up to three months.

But you don’t rush a Michelangelo or a Leonardo: “Good things take patience,” Casavecchia reminds us.

“These products are for what I call shoe freaks,” he tells Issa Litton, who hosted the launch near Santoni’s first boutique in Manila. “They are the customers who will buy a thousand pairs of shoes.”

Francesco gets to work, tracing a volunteer’s stocking feet on a sheet of paper. He looks for “peculiarities,” and takes note of the base of the neck. The foot has a neck? Yes, it does, and this mid-sole measurement affects the size and comfort of the shoe’s upper tongue resting on your foot.

Santoni Philippines general manager Edith Dychiao notes De Santis will be around to measure feet — but just for the day. After that, “If people are interested (in the bespoke service), they can sign up, and when we have enough inquiries, when he comes around to Asia again, they can meet with him.”

But no matter what shoes you select at Santoni — bespoke, or straight off the rack — they’re the product of an artisanal tradition, down to the hand-painted leather. And they’re guaranteed to be highly comfortable. Like a French meal will taste better with ingredients sourced in France, the materials making up Santoni shoes make for a superior shoe-wearing experience. (Seriously, people blog about this stuff.)

I ask Casavecchia what’s the must-have shoe for most men: “Santoni was grown on the brogue, the double monk (two buckle) I am wearing. In my opinion, every businessman should have it.” He demonstrates another shoe’s flexibility, bending its toe upward. “This is amazing, it’s Goodyear construction flats, we have a special injection that makes it extremely comfortable — for lawyers, bankers, people on their feet for long hours. The Japanese are crazy for these.”

All-leather soles make a difference in comfort, and Santoni uses the finest — everything from crocodile, calf, horse to ostrich — with patented Goodyear, Bologna, Moccasin and Blake construction.

Design-wise, these are not your typical black and brown loafers. Think colors. Think Italian. Think art. Though Santoni values tradition, their designers like to go outside the lines. “It’s amazing when you enter their designing room, there’s nothing that resembles shoes in their paintings; there are buildings, there are boats, they take inspiration from everywhere.”

But getting Filipino men to go for multicolored shoes might take some educating, says Dychiao. “Filipino men still go for loafers, black and brown rubber soles and leather uppers. They still go for traditional look and style — only a few will go out of their way, buying reds, mustards, blue leathers.”

Even higher on the luxury shoe food chain are Santoni’s Limited Edition shoes, which sell for about P115,000 at the Manila outlet. But, oh, what a difference a few zeroes can make: constructed in batches of 500 pairs only, these builds use the finest, softest calf and goat leather, with the highest degree of artisan attention to construction, stitching, design available, down to the quality of pigments used to paint the leather. When they say these shoes are works of art, you can tell what they mean.

Casavecchia offers some basic tips on caring for these beauties: “Always select light models, maybe building up the rubber sole on the shoes in order to not slip in wet Asian climates,” he says. “Of course, be sure to have your shoe last (the wooden model) ready when you are home to put inside the shoes and let it dry; then brush it and take care of it.”

With their shared passion for luxury and selection, Santoni and exclusive Philippine distributor Lucerne were a partnership made in heaven. “We are delighted to bring the first Santoni boutique here,” notes Lucerne managing director Emerson Yao. “It is a brand that we believe in. With its creativity, elegance, and excellent craftsmanship, Santoni is indeed a name to reckon with in the field of luxury hand-crafted footwear.”

“My partner is the top watch distributor in the Philippines, and his clients are very similar to my customers,” adds Casavecchia. “This is why we partnered with IWC. I see great potential, I see a lot of good connoisseurs here.”

Santoni not only makes footwear, but luxury watchstraps and racing shoes as well — two exclusive lines have been developed with Santoni for IWC Schaffhausen and Mercedes AMG (also available in Manila).

All models of Portofino Hand-Wound Eight Days watches are held by Santoni straps made exclusively for IWC Schaffhausen. Available in shades of brown as well as in black, Santoni processes the leather with an exclusive patina through a special dyeing process; the exquisite straps are also recognizable from the orange-colored leather lining, a Santoni trademark.

For boys who like other toys, Santoni has designed AMG shoes for high performance while driving. “The AMG partnership derives from Mr. Santoni’s passion for racing,” notes Casavecchia. “We created a special shoe fit for racing which resembles the shape of the AMG SLS car. It has a special type of sole that resembles the tire of the Mercedes. A lot of Mercedes customers love to drive with the shoes, the grip is amazing.” Light and fireproof, the shoes comply with the FIA’s highest standards: the carbon sole improves adherence on the pedal and wraps around the foot like a glove.

And before you think it’s all about men, note that Santoni does make amazing women’s shoes, too, and bags and accessories as well. It’s just that the launch was largely aimed at men, perhaps to prove that guys can be as big shoe fanatics as ladies are.

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Santoni is located at 2/F East Wing, Shangri-La Plaza Mall.