Ivan Crivellaro – Not Just a Patina Artist

I had the real pleasure of finally putting a face to a name while at Pitti Uomo 86 and that name was Ivan Crivellaro. Having been a huge fan of his work and have communicated several times over internet, it was nice to finally meet another one of the men that is behind this new wave of patina greatness! And what is fascinating about this new wave of patina popularity in general is the fact that each of the big artists that are popular right now have their own feel/touch, way of going about doing their patina. From the greats at the top, no two of them really do patina in the same fashion. They are all distinctly and uniquely different from each other. Ivan for example has mastered this blotchy/muddle, museum like effect that is quite unique and amazing to be honest. It looks very difficult and makes you think, ‘how the heck does he do it?!’

What I wanted to really know though about Ivan was how it all worked. I had seen his work on Facebook and asked the price when he first came out, but that was really it. I had no real basis of information to thus communicate to all of you the idea of how one goes about ordering a pair of Ivan Crivellaro shoes. Therefore we had a nice chat in Italian, which was very pleasant as I have been losing my abilities to speak the beautiful language since leaving the country in 2009, and every now and then being able to speak it again gives me that bit of spark back to my memory. Enough nostalgia and back to the story…..

Ivan told me that first and foremost, his entire business if operated off of Facebook. So if you want his shoes and don’t have an account, you better get one. Then again he is on Instagram so there is always that. He tells me that for him, there is no such thing as a customer in his mind. When he goes into an exchange of business with a new client, the relationship and process becomes so personal that he prefers to think of people as friends. This is neither he nor there for many of you but I think shows a great deal of how important this process is for Ivan. And when he tells you this, you feel it, you believe it. For example when we first met, we exchanged a hug and kisses on the cheek (traditionally Italian, even for men whom are good friends) as if we had known each other for years. There is a comfort behind that in my opinion. It makes you feel like the person making your shoes actually cares and is not there just to take your money.

After the pleasantries, I got down to the nitty-gritty and asked about price and what exactly is it that he does. But this is actually where it gets complicated. I had thought that Ivan was simply a patina artist. But apparently he is also a shoemaker, who can make one from start to finish by hand. But his services are so vast that it is hard to keep up. He basically tells me that the customer can have whatever they want, all the way from blake-stitched RTW shoes, to semi bespoke (loose measurements taken) goodyear welted all the way up to full on bespoke. I did not have a pen and paper to get down each price but basically his shoes start at €600-€850 and go up from there.

Now this is not including the request of the patina, which is then added on top. There is no price level to that he says as each one is so uniquely different and it varies a lot on whether or not the customer wants something on the sole. That being, while I don’t have exact figures, you can work with that number of €600 and everything else is added on top depending on how crazy you want to go. It was refreshing to know that Ivan is also a shoemaker by trade. While I believe that the shoes he displays are mainly RTW versions, he says that he has some clients that he makes for, entirely by hand.

It was a great pleasure to meet Ivan and I must say that I am always excited to see his new creations are they are always knocking me off my feet. Below you will find the link to his facebook page, so if you need to get ahold of him, you now know where to find him!

IVAN CRIVELLARO CONTACT

On another note, for those in London, Saint Crispins is having a trunk show from July 7th-9th (today to Wed) at the Drakes shop on Clifford St. Get yourself there if you have yet to see those beauties in person. http://drakes-diary.tumblr.com/

And for those in NYC, Leffot’s Summer sale started today. Better get there quick while he still has stock! — http://leffot.com/

Sincerely,

Justin, “The Shoe Snob”