Right now there seems to be more bespoke shoemakers than ever. And with that type of saturation, it’s hard to keep up with them all and know which ones are good and which ones aren’t. That may sound harsh, but just because someone can make shoes by hand, doesn’t necessarily make them a master, let alone good at it….. One of the many that found me on Facebook (where many of them reside as they can do proper websites) was Riccardo Borella out of Arona, Italy. I really can’t say that I know much about him, but some of his designs are quite interesting and his prices are quite low, starting from €1000 for bespoke and €500 for semi-bespoke (what ever that really means).
Looking at the pictures, the finishing looks a bit rough around the edges on some of the shoes but the leather looks good and the shoes look solid. For the price, it seems like good deal! I quite like a few of his designs and if I were someone curious about bespoke but could not enter the realm of the West End makers that charge upwards of £3000, then I would give him a shot, especially just to get that interesting take on the button shoe with what looks like denim. Very nice!
That being, for those of you in Paris who also might be interested in learning more about Riccardo Borella’s work (which you can see more of HERE), you can see him between the 7th-9th of April. He will be at Rue de Bellefond 26, 9th arrondissement but will be by appointment only. You can either call him at +393388626170 or by email at calzoleria.borella@virgilio.it
Happy Easter to all who celebrate!
Justin, “The Shoe Snob”
1 thought on “Riccardo Borella”
The shoes on the first picture are not made in denim but in Donegal Tweed, how do I know ? they are mine 😉 This great character & talented fresh shoemaker, Riccardo, is worth meeting at some stage !