At the next Pitti Uomo in January I am organising a shoe symposium, together with Stefano Bemer and Bespoke magazine, with the intention of showcasing the work of some of the best men’s shoemakers in the world. 

We will have Cleverley, Corthay, Bestetti, Gaziano & Girling, Foster & Son, Norman Vilalta, St Crispin’s and of course Stefano Bemer. I’m pleased to say that Tony and Dean will be there from G&G, as well as George Jr and John Carnera from Cleverley (John does speak Italian, after all). 

There will be an exhibition of bespoke shoes, a roundtable discussion I’m chairing, a photo shoot to go in Bespoke magazine, and a party afterwards at Villa Cora. 

There is very little at Pitti that celebrates artisans any more, unfortunately, so I’m hoping this will be a little different. An opportunity to show the Pitti crowd what real craftsmanship looks like, perhaps.

The event will be fairly restricted, but if any readers will be in Florence on January 14th and would like to come along, I have three tickets available. Let me know at the usual email address. Either way, there will be lots of coverage here on the blog. I do hope it goes well.