Gulun’s popularity among dress shoe lovers is not low at all, but it seems that the degree of discussion is not high. I suspect it’s because it’s too affordable. Once in the price range of 900 to 1100 RMB, handwelted with handstitched outsole, even if the upper design imitates the classic style of other brands, or the lasts don’t have obvious aesthetic features, people can’t help buying.
This year, Gulun came to participate in the 2023 China Trunk Show because there is a upgrade. The price jumps from 1000 RMB to 1800-2500 range, stepping into the field of domestic mainstream brands with great cognition. It is a big move, and what upgrade the products have undertaken gives the owner Mr. Pan this confidence?
Let’s take a look at the shoes on display in the event.
- Leather
The low price of Gulun was related to the cost of leather used, although there were also French leather options, but most of them were domestic leather.
In this upgrade, all leather has been replaced with imported leather, and the main two are the museum calf from Ilcea in Italy, which is the leather that has finally entered the mainstream vision from the preference of enthusiasts, and then hatch grain from Horween in the United States. Even in other brands, whether high-end or mid-range, this leather is used in small quantities on certain styles, Gulun directly pushes it into the main force.
In addition, it is the crust leather from Italian tannery Bonaudo, this patina is done remarkably.
- Craftsmanship
This upgrade is divided into two points, the first is the introduction of Norwegese construction, which backs up the price of more than 2000 RMB.
Gulun’s Norwegese construction is very distinctive, and it should be said that it meets the needs of people who buy Norwegese construction very well, that is, it must be eye-catching! How does Gulun achieve this? Or what is the difference between Gulun’s Norwegese and others? Notice the distance between stitches on the upper and stitches near welt. This big gap makes this decorative element even more evident.
Another upgrade in craftsmanship is outsole, which we will see later.
- Pattern Design
Although the design of this pair is complicated, the arc under the laces does have a bit of flavor. Mr. Pan The owner of Gulun, Mr. Pan has some talent on pattern design. It’s not clear to me if this pair is completely original, but even if it is imitated, the degree of harmony is in place.
I like these two pairs of Lazymans, the design is wonderful and intrigues who already have a lot of shoes.
This small square toe last seems working better with plain toe than wingtip.
Another upgrade of the craftsmanship was left out, let’s take a look through a pair of shoes.
Unboxing
Pure white shoe box, hard enough to remain shape in transportation, but lack of any indication of brand.
After opening, you can see the logo on the inside of the lid. This is the first time I see this design; the logo is only found after uncovering, which is not a bad idea as long as this keeps. Orange, remember this color.
The shoe bag is black, and the material is not particularly impressive. Orange and black collide together, which is not a harmonious match. And in terms of brand color, there is orange and white of the shoe box, there is really no need to add more colors. If shoe bag was in white, and the logo became orange, a better solution, right?
In the shoe bag, a layer of plastic bag provides better protection, which I have seen on JFP. but I always feel that for the sake of functionality, a lot of luxury has been sacrificed.
Last
This last is my dish at first glance, round, negative aggressiveness. You can imagine the wearer is an honest and slow old man.
The little toe seems too wide, especially the left one. Is this a MTM? Because I do have a wider left foot, but I haven’t given him any data.
In fact this extrusion was caused by the shoe tree. The last is different and it is wider than this pair of shoes.
last profile, toe cap is also relatively high, adding the chubby attribute, and the height of the outside of the forefoot is also high, absorbing Japanese bespoke shoes adapting to Asian wide foot.
Pattern
Brogued cap toe Oxford, there are no design elements, but one place startled me.
Seamless heel?! On this price point? Seriously?
Leather
Whether Horween Hatch Grain fits cap toe Oxford is a question. Although a very safe color such as dark brown was chosen, the rough texture of hatch grain was quite conflict with the delicacy of cap toe Oxford.
At the 2023 China Trunk Show, I asked Kenneth Ling, the owner of bespoke tailoring house Lancer how to wear these shoes, his answer was to don more textured fabric, such as Donegal tweed.
Outsole
This is another point of craftsmanship upgrading, fiddleback waist. This element can be said to be in line with his Norwegian stitching, all in order to be more eye-catching.
A small suggestion, since the logo will always step into the yin and yang field, it is better to be smaller.
Welt
This is not an upgrade, and as I saw about 3 years ago, very fine fudge, but stitch density is low. If the stitching is particularly close to the upper, so that only the fudge can be seen, it does give fine feeling. But it’s always better to increase stitch density.
Since the outsole is sewn by hand, workers may prefer to sew closer to the upper than higher density.
Heel lasting
The heel has a certain Cuban heel element. The gap between heel bottom and upper heel is too obvious. As a handmade shoe, it may be improved here.
Details
Remember the orange color inside the shoe box just now? Gulun uses this brand color as the color of the lining, which contrasts sharply with this relatively conservative upper color. Strengthening the brand color in this form is a very good operation.
There is no information inside the shoes except for the size 38 on the tongue.
It can be considered that Gulun is already making a brand at present, but the attention is not enough. I think from the brand point of view, the logo must be seen in the shoes, and then the style name, last and size should be enough for consumers.
Conclusion
Once Gulun was a value brand, today, even if the price has risen a lot, but there is no doubt that it is still a value brand, and the price-performance ratio has not decreased at all. I just hope that in terms of branding, there are more memorable details.