Every Pitti Uomo I have my ritual of visiting the same shoemakers that present season after season. One of those makers is Paolo Scafora who in my mind is one of the most underrated shoemakers in the world, a great deal of which I believe is due to his wesbite that does not represent just how nice his shoes are. For those that don’t know, he has his own factory in Naples, specializes in hand coloring (as you can see) and makes shoes in just about every construction known to man. His welted shoes are all handwelted and hand lasted yet he uses a sole that you can bend in half like it was a pancake. But even with all of that under his belt you rarely hear of his shoes. I am hoping that will soon change.
Paolo really brought something new to the table this year as he really took pattern making to a new level with his mixture of suede incorporated into a body of calf as well as brogueing that all of the sudden stops where it would traditionally keep going. Needless to say it is all very unique and many of the pieces came out beautifully. I love this forward thinking too as it is really hard to come up with something that is truly unique. Well done Paolo!
While you won’t find a lot of shops that stock his shoes outside of Asia, you can always deal directly with the company on a MTO basis. Paolo is one of the nicest guys around and is very accommodating. — [email protected] —
