The marriage between trad and tech has spawned some irresistible offspring at Lodger, a newish shoe shop in a side street off Savile Row. After you've picked your style, you stick your foot in a scanner where lasers map it so accurately that even wrinkles in your sock are read. Then your scan is compared to Lodger's computerized library of a thousand-plus lasts to find the best match. (It's a bit like CSI for cobblers.) The fine-tuned result is sent off to Lodger's factories in England or Italy to be produced. Sixty days later, you'll have a pair of shoes as near to bespoke as you can get without the whole last-carving, six-months'-wait palaver (though Lodger does that as well, along with a ready-to-wear collection). They're also personalized with your name and the date they were finished (love the bamboo-fiber shoe bags and the bespoke shoe trees, too).
Beaverton, Oregon-born CEO Nathan Brown has worked for Nike, Adidas, and Puma, and he was keen to apply their extreme footwear technology to a more classic product. But his real masterstroke is the Shoe of the Month—one English style, one Italian, offered for one month only, then never again. April, for instance, features a black slip-on (Italian, of course) and some very on-trend white "tennis" shoes (above), based on a vintage style from 1910. I'm kicking myself for missing the desert boots a few months back. But at least the kicks won't hurt as bad in these babies.
Lodger's Custom Fit starts at about $550
No comments:
Post a Comment