How to make a shoe, on the streets of Florence

[Shoes and a bag from Dolce&Gabbana catwalk – a partnership with Cuoio di Toscana

@credits Dolce&Gabbana]

Is there a better synonym for craftsmanship, manual skills, and know-how than the art of leather processing and its unmistakable scents? A great example of this came from Consorzio Cuoio di Toscana – the Tuscan Leather consortium – which, on the 2^nd of September, set up a worktable in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, Florence, where a craftsman demonstrated each phase of the construction of a shoe: starting from the leather, a sustainable, ecological and natural material, in line with the circular economy. The performance fit perfectly into the context of the events organised in Florence by Dolce&Gabbana that involved 38 local artisans in the two Haute Couture and ‘Alta Sartoria’ (i.e. high-level formal wear) fashion shows, a symbol of the new fashion renaissance following the pandemic.

Cuoio di Toscana, which partners with the biggest international brands, was chosen for its excellence in the making of an outerwear piece and two accessories from the men’s collection, which was presented on the catwalk in the Sala dei Cinquecento at Palazzo Vecchio.

What is behind a product as complex as the shoe was revealed in the performance of the craftsman in Piazza Santa Maria Novella, who highlighted the merits of the raw material, of the slow vegetable tanning process, and of finishing methods, to really get to the heart of how you make a men’s and women’s model through the visual demonstration of the various steps involved.