Loake Launches New 1880 Range Export Grade: The Best of British Shoemaking

Loake has launched a new top quality collection of Export Grade men's shoes as part of the Loake 1880 Range. I visited their Kettering factory this week where the company's Head, Andrew Loake, told me that they wanted to show how factory-made shoes could be made to the highest standards, while remaining affordable.

One of the first things that impressed me on my visit was the immense feeling of pride in the new range. Brendon Drage-Dawes, Chief Shoemaker at Loake, has put together a team of the best to work on every aspect of the shoes. As he showed me round I was struck by the enthusiasm and pride of these men and women in their work.

Brendon was wearing a pair of the shoes and spoke highly of their comfort. They've been built with a fitted fiddle-back waist (giving elegance to the central part of the shoe) which provides good support on the insole. 

They are quite light in weight and are made from a high quality Italian calf which is soft to wear. Stitching of the uppers is immaculate, with a much higher than normal stitch count, giving the shoes a high quality, crisp look. Most importantly, they are beautiful shoes, with that elegance only seen on well-made and designed high quality shoes.

The actual construction and assembly of the shoe is where the magic happens. The first step is attaching the welt to the uppers and soles and this has to be done very precisely by eye. The shank, which stiffens the middle of the sole is attached and the sole and uppers are then joined. Once attached, the sole is shaped very precisely, again by eye, and the heel nailed on. 

There are many steps involved, each carried out by a skilled and experienced worker. It was good to see that a good proportion of the team are young men and women, so the skills required have been effectively passed down with the workforce at Loake.

Once the shoe is built there is still much to do: painting the soles, waxing and polishing the heels, soles and uppers, adding the laces and packing the shoes for sale. The waxing, buffing and polishing is done by hand, with one worker using his fingers to apply different layers and colours to the uppers to achieve, on the final burnishing, a depth of colour and shine that would do a guardsman proud.

Before I looked at the price of these beautifully made shoes I'd guessed a piece of approaching £500. Loake will be selling them for £295. However, they will be in limited supply from selected retailers and Loake shops; they won't be available online. Their labour intensive manufacture takes time and you may need to wait - but it will be worth it. For more information, see the Loake website.

'Loake 1880 Export Grade comprises three timeless, elegant and understated designs: Hanover, a toe-cap Oxford; Trinity, an Oxford semi–brogue; and Warwick, a wing-cap Oxford ‘austerity brogue’ shoe. A fourth style, Grosvenor, a wing-cap Derby brogue, will be added in March 2017'. [Loake]

Loake sponsored this post. All views are my own.