Maftei, a bespoke shoemaker in Vienna, Austria, has been open for almost half a century and has quite a few customers in Austria Germany and Nordic region. What really made it gain world fame was Shoegazing, Jesper Ingevaldsson commissioned its signature style, a seamless wholecut Oxford. Pink is an extremely rare colour in dress shoes, but it is the favorite of Alexandru Maftei.
Compared with conventional whole cut Oxford that most people know, the only difference of appearance from seamless is whether there are leather stitches on the heel. But in terms of production, the difference is far greater than this, because the seamless onepiece needs to cover a whole piece of leather directly on the last, and after the leather is handlasted and mould into the shape, the openning of the shoe is cut off with a knife.
The difficulty of production is reflected in lasting, and the toughness and ductility characteristics of the leather should be better grasped. Pull too hard, leather tears, pull not hard enough, the leather is loose, creases after wearing are prominent. It sounds like practice makes perfect.
Unboxing
The black shoe box contains navy blue shoe bags. You can’t go wrong with this colour.
Inside the blue shoe bag, there is another layer of white cotton and linen shoe bag for better protection.
Last
This is where this shoe sets apart. Since I introduced Maftei into China, I have chosen the last that best represents the regional characteristics, the last number is 775, and I name it Pei for easy memory. The short description is an elongated square round toe with a towering forehead.
But after I came across a pair sitting on a certain round toe last, I loved the traditional British taste (I’ve always been a fan of British style), so I chose this last.
The last number is 192, and I named it Henry to pay homage to British bespoke shoe shop Henry Maxwell.
The toe is very classic and round, but Maftei, a brand that serves Central Europeans, fits wider. In addition, the roundness of the head, for me, is still not blunt enough.
Klimt on the left is a cap toe oxford, and the cap toe breaks the line, so it shortens the last visually and makes the British feeling more obvious. On Onepiece style, it appears a little longer, and the protrusion on the outside is more pronounced.
Profile of this last is much sharper than last Pei, mainly because the toe is less towering.
Pattern
Since it is a seamless wholecut oxford, there is really nothing to say about the upper design. But not quite, there is one place where you can play, and that is the number of holes in the laces. This pair walks the most traditional conservative way, 5 pairs of eyelets.
Craftsmanship
Hand-stitched outsole allows the stitches to fit the fudge perfectly, and then it is covered by wax. Stitch density is in harmony with welt width and thickness. The sense of refinement is very good.
Outsole
Very narrow fiddleback waist, Maftei logo is on one side of the ridge. The toe has a Wingtip-shaped copper plate engraved with the Maftei brand.
Heel Lasting
For such a brand of handmade bespoke, this is the bottom line. Impeccably clean.
Lasted Shoe Tree
Lasted hollow shoe tree with hinge.
Details
Bright orange lining and sock lining. Mr. Maftei is really very tumultuous in his heart, and if the upper leather does not let him make some noise, he must have it in the lining leather.
For seamless wholecut oxford, the most difficult and rare skill is lasting, and which position is the most likely to go wrong? It is either side of transition from waist to heel.
You can see leather stretching out. That is why this model is not made by many brands or shoemakers.
Summary
As Maftei’s signature style, the interpretation of different lasts must be carried forward.