One of our greatest joys of wandering the halls of the shows during Paris Fashion Week was when we came across some great brands of which we had not yet heard. Shinobu, the handmade Italian footwear label, was one of those very brands.
We saw Shinobu at Tranoï and the amazing texture of the pieces is what initially drew our attention. We then got to speaking to the brand and learned more about where they started. Roberto, who founded the label, is an Italian designer who grew up in his parent's ballet shoe lab. It was there that he got the passion for artisan shoemaking. Through the maturation of his technique and imagination, he moved on to start his own label, Shinobu.
It has been 10 years since the launch of the brand. From the beginning, he has been creating shapes shades and daring combinations in his lab near Venice. His creations are inspired by the colours of Earth, soil, sand and stones. He plays with geometry, as does Mother Nature, by using lines that end up in irregular shapes. Shinobu only uses soft, high-quality leather materials to create those shapes; each hold surprises that are not visible at first sight. Roberto designs each piece and every one is hand-crafted in Italy.
Though not widely known worldwide, Shinobu has been able expand beyond Europe, from the United States and Japan through to the Middle East. Roberto subscribes to the slow fashion movement by exploring the use of organic quality materials, embracing the spirit of sustainable fashion. Shinobu is a small-scale artisan lab that designs by passion and inspiration, not consumption, and for that, we applaud them.
Here, you can see their latest collection for Autumn Winter 2016. In this collection, you can see the inspiration from our natural environment which is part of the aesthetic of the Shinobu brand. I can tell you, having seen the first-hand, that each piece is truly unique proving that each one has been crafted by an artisan. the textures are eye-catching and the details are impressive.
