Austrian shoemaker Saint Crispin’s is very sought after among shoe enthusiasts. Except its unique aesthetics, its high handwork percentage is also an important aspect.
According to its promotion most people would think Saint Crispin’s are 95% handmade, which means all steps are taken by hand except upper stitching done by sewing machine.
But is it true?
Saint Crispin’s published a promotional video on YouTube, here.
I took a screenshot about outsole stitching process.
Clearly, the outsole was sewed by machine. In the same video, a lot of skiving and grinding were also done by machine.
Personally, I don’t care too much about how a pair of shoes are made, my point is all processes contribute to the final aesthetics of the shoes. If someone can modernize some handworks into machine operation without sacrificing the refinedness of the shoes, it should be appraised for!
So answer the question of the title, no, with some many processes done by machine, Saint Crispin’s cannot and should not publicize itself as handmade.