I feel it is funny that a lot of efforts are put on the sole. Not matter it is an outsider or an enthusiast, if you are a little detached, you will have the same feeling with me.
Why is it funny? Because no matter how exquisite and artful off the factory or workshop, after one wear, it is gone.
In this article, I would like to summarize the colouring and creation on leather sole in this industry.
The first examples coming into my mind is the double colour leather sole of John Lobb and Edward Green.
The methodology is almost the same, light colour in forefoot, black at waist. The difference is John Lobb chooses crust leather colour and Edward Green painting brown.
Chinese brand Mattina follows suit.
Double colouring sole is quite universal especially on premium collections, such as Imperial collection from Joseph Cheaney.
Maybe the colour idea is the same with John Lobb and Edward Green, however the dividing shape reminds us another shoemaker, Gaziano & Girling.
So the dividing line could be very playful, such as the reversed arc from Wildsmith.
Double colouring sole was deemed high end, not mainstream, which is single colour. However there is difference even in single colouring soles.
Entry level such as Barker, Loake, Sanders and Benchgrade from Crockett & Jones, even the much more expensive Church’s, the colouring is very light.
Most Spanish factories don’t put too much emphasize on this, and the colour is the same.
How to make it more premium? Easy, make it darker. The examples are Handgrade from Crockett & Jones Handgrade and Edward Green (yes, Edward Green has single colouring sole).
We move to a higher platform, and we see much more luxury and gorgeous patterns. The best example must be Paolo Scafora.
Antonio Meccariello is also the shoemaker who loves to create on soles, but I am speechless about this marbled one.
In the end, we finish our journey back to England, and we take a look at the epitome of shoemaking, bespoke. Of course, bespoke can offer any leather sole you request, but the default one is undyed leather sole with only a bit of wax.
The purpose is to expose the leather sole and manifest that the making process is flawless, no need for any decoration or covering.
No matter what has been done to the leather sole, it ends like this.
The concluding question, is it meaningful? My answer is it is not neccessary for sure, however, paint and music are not neccessary as well, they bring us joy, don’t they?