I have a lot of time for shoe brands that are actually out there doing something different, and Altan Bottier is certainly one of them. It takes no skill to simply tell a factory to make a common cap toe oxford or your standard full brogue. They all have those common patterns stored in their computer. But it takes real skill to make something that no one else has ever done and it come out attractive.
Reinventing shoe patterns (i.e. claasic designs) is hard and takes a very artistic mind. The difference between a 1-2mm placement of a seam can make a huge difference in the aesthetic of the shoe. So anybody that can do it, I will have alot of respect for, even if I wouldn’t personally wear the shoes. You see, shoe appreciation is not necessarily about what you would wear or buy, its about what you find aesthetically pleasing. I see ridiculous priced art all of the time. I would never want to spend my money on it nor possibly even take it if someone gave it to me, but I can certainly appreciate it. That’s what appreciating shoe design is like.
So while many of you might not like these forward designs, the idea is to appreciate them for the skill that it takes to make them.
