Maestro Paolo Scafora
When most people think of elegant shoes, they visualize the great manufacturers of England such as; John Lobb, Edward Green, and Church’s. And when they are asked to picture Italian shoes, people think of either the thin comfortable loafer made popular by Gucci, or the very flamboyant, intricately lasted shoes of Santoni. Maestro Paolo Scafora is a shoemaker who effortlessly straddles both stylistic worlds of shoemaking, producing shoes of breathtaking beauty and are testaments to the skill and traditions of his craft.
Based in Casandrino, Paolo Scafora is known to select clients around the world primarily as an artisan who crafts the most exquisite bespoke shoes with a Neapolitan aesthetic: shoes that exude quality and craftsmanship. His laboratory employs six full time artisans, all whom specialise in a specific part of shoemaking. There are dedicated cutters, closers, lasters, and finishers.
He designs each shoe in collaboration with the client, where the starting point is the client’s imagination and desires. As such, he is very different from the way the large English houses; where the starting point is an existing design, which is then modified to what the client wants. And as for the shape and fit of his shoes, as Sig. Scafora’s clients will agree, he is person that is the hardest to please, making as many fittings until he is totally satisfied with the fit and shape of the shoe. Sig. Scafora’s designs span from the traditional English shapes to the more elaborate chisel toes.
Using only the finest leathers from France and Italy, Sign. Scafora creates all his shoes by hand, where the ‘fatte a mano’ designation means exactly that! The only machinery that ever touches the shoes are sewing machines used to stitch the upper pieces of leather together. The shoes are a testament to the art of handwork; the cutting of the leather, the lasting of the upper to the last, the welting of the upper to the sole, and the finishing, colouring, and patination of the final shoe. An interesting note about the cork midsole: unlike many shoemakers who fill the midsole with a mixture of glue and corkchips, Sig. Scafora prefers to use a single piece of cork. The reason being that it allows the shoe to be more flexible, and to use less filling and more leather.
Handwelting the shoe
Handstitching upper
One piece cork filling
Handshaped leather toepuff
The finishing of the shoe is exquisite, attention is given to all parts of the shoe. Leather edges of the upper are very neatly turned, stitches are neat and tight, sole edges completely blacked, and the sole is even given it’s own antiquing! What truly separates the shoes from the rest is the way they are handpolished, giving the shoe a subtle inner glow. Especially striking are shoes that are made from ‘crust’ leather (undyed leather). The colour is gradually applied by hand in several layers, and the antiquing requires a painter’s skill and imagination in mixing colours and applying them in just the correct amounts and specific parts of the shoe. The result is one of breathtaking beauty.
Handcoloured crust leather
Fiddleback waist.
Hand antiqued captoe
Semibrogued captoe
Mocassin
Norvogese wholecut.
Alongside his bespoke shoes, Sig. Scafora also produces a small line of Ready-To-Wear shoes. These are made to the same exact levels as his bespoke by the same artisans. The only difference being that that RTW is made on a standard last rather than that of the client.
bron:
http://www.noveporte.it/portico/scafora_en.htm
