INITIATION TO

SHOE CULTURE
AND KNOW-
HOW
BY MAISON LARARE
NATHALIE ELHARRAR/AURELIE BESOMBES
IFM
 NUMBERS ABOUT THE SHOES
WORLD
• 24 billions pairs of shoes are producted every year in the world
•
The shoe market in 2015 :
• 57 billions € in China (+ 20 %) ;
• 69 Billions € in USA (+ 2,5 %) ;
• 68 billions € in Europa (+ 1 %).

• Luxury shoes: a world market of 16 billions € in 2016 including

• 3 billions € for luxury sneakers

• China manufactures around 60 % of the shoes sold in the whole world.

NUMBERS AGAIN
• French women buy an average of 6 pairs a year
• Men are around 3 pairs
• French women own an average of 9 pairs
• 1 Million pairs sold by day in France/365 M/year
• Around 90 shoe manufactures in France now
• + - 6000 workers
• 24 Millions of pairs/year produced in France
• France is the 13th exporter on the world scale
• Shoe market in France : 9 Billions €.
• 85 % Purchases in physical shops, 15 %online purchase
 ABOUT
LEATHER
LEATHER A BYPRODUCT OF THE MEAT INDUSTRY

La peau : 5 %
Du poids de
l’animal

5 % DE LA
PEAU =
+ -10% du
prix de
ANIMAL

Ref http://www.Mon-cultivar-elevage.Com/
Syndicat des peaux et cuirs brut
 SKIN STRUCTURE

OF THE INITIAL THREE LAYERS, ONLY THE DERMIS WILL BECOME LEATHER.
 A BABY'S SKIN
The younger the animal, the more flawless, thin and scarless the skin, just like humans!
 TANNING
PROCESS
• A HIGHLY MOISTURISED AND
PUTRESCIBLE SKIN IS
TRANSFORMED INTO
LEATHER THAT IS NOT VERY
MOISTURISED, ROT-PROOF
AND RESISTANT.
TANNING PROCESS

• SEVERAL KINDS OF TANNING AGENTS:

• THE MOST COMMON: CHROME TANNING 85
TO 90% of the worldwide leather
• VEGETAL: VEGETAL TANNINS (10 TO 15% OF
THE PRODUCTS)
• COMBINED: MIX OF MINERAL AND VEGETAL
VÉGÉTAL TANNING

• Plant tannins: from the French tan, bark, a

word derived from the Gallic language
• Tree bark (most often oak, mimosa,
chestnut, quebracho, acacia, etc.), leaves,
fruit or roots. The tanning of leather
consists of the agglutination of the tannin
around the collagen molecules of the skin.
 FOULONS DE
TANNAGE AU
CHROME DANS
UNE TANNERIE
The tanning is done with trivalent
chromium salts: a faster process, with a
better control of flexibility, softness and
elasticity
THE TOOLS
THE TOOLS

DEPENDING THE TYPE OF

SHOE MAKING, THE USE OF
TOOLS MAY BE A BIT
DIFFERENT : SOME ARE
SPECIFIC FOR HANDMADE
BESPOKE SHOE, WHEN
OTHERS ARE MORE COMMON
IN INDUSTRY.

Industrial cutting tool for a shoe

upper
TOOLS
FOR
PATTER
N
MAKING
 Pattern making Hand drawing the shoe Verification of gradations
with a specific line on last in a design of a patternship.
software office
MAKING
THE
UPPER
CUTTING the leather
SPLITING
SKIVING
PUNCHING
HEDGE DYEING
GLUING
ASSEMBLING
STITCHING
Hand cutting Folding the hedge
hand skiving Stitching the upper
ASSEMBLIN
G UPPER,
INSOLE
AND
OUTSOLE
Leather insole in Using the lasting pincers to tight the
preparation : upper straps and fixing with glue under
the insole
perforations for
Checking the upper position on the last
insertions of the
sandal upper straps Welting the outsole to the insole
 Technical sheets
Models of sandals to choose and customize
MULE
FLIP FLOP MEN
FLIP FLOP WOMEN
MULTISTRAPS SANDAL revoir dessin
Anatomy of
a basic oxford Or Eyelets tab
with a straight
toe cap

The soft part of the shoe is

called the upper
The rigid part under: the soling
RENFORTS IN
A SHOE Or Eyelets tab
BETWEEN
UPPER AND
LINING
The hard toe puff to protect the toe
The lace guard renfort
The stiffener or the counter to maintain
heel and ankle
The tape to maintain the topline
Anatomy of
a basic oxford
with a wing cap
Anatomy of
a sneaker
EDGES FINITIONS
 Edge finishings
Slip beading/beaded edge/piped
Folded edge seam
Raw edge Bord passepoilé
Bord franc Bord remplié

Bord galon ou bords

anglais
Gallon binding or Bord fourreau Bord à Cheval
French binding Bagged edge Flat binding
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 Different seam types

Jointure Jointure simple ouverte/ open

extérieure/crest stitched
stitch

Jointure à cheval/flat Jointure extérieure ou

seaming bord à cheval/flat binding
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 Lapped seam Zig-zagged seam

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 Welded
Construction
the most
common
construction

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CONSTRUCTI
ON SANDAL
« LUMIERE »
 • The role of the product manager
• The role of the buyer
ROLES AND • The role of the stylist/shoe designer
PROFESSION • The role of the development manager
S • The role of the design office
• The role of the manufacturer
 He/she steers the development of the collections; he/she is the guarantor of
commercial orientation, respect for the DNA, timings and management of the
designer and factories.His role varies according to the company.

• Sales analysis, competitive intelligence and trends/benchmarks/study of markets and

product and price positioning, trade show intelligence
• Structuring, in collaboration with the stylist(s), of collection plans, by theme, by price, by

Product
type
• Organisation/management and follow-up of creation schedules, prototypes and samples
for the various internal and external participants
Manager • Sourcing suppliers, manufacturers in agreement with the production
manager/management
• Follow-up of prototypes in collaboration with the stylists
• Coordination between the various parties involved: designers, factories and suppliers,
sales departments
• Preparation of launches and product sheets with the stylist
• Management of collection orders in agreement with the sales departments
• Relations with suppliers, supplier negotiations, price definitionsPresentation and
construction of collection arguments to the sales teams
 Several types of functions, depending on the profile of the companies, are hidden
under this title, but the skills are partly similar. Some functions overlap with those of
the product manager.

The fashion buyer draws up purchasing plans, selects products from around the world
or has them manufactured in order to put together a collection. Passionate about
fashion, the buyer is always on the lookout for new trends and innovations without
being creative or technical. He/she carefully follows the evolution of the markets. The
The buyer buyer negotiates with suppliers on costs and production times. To do this, he must
have a great sense of negotiation and communication.

In a luxury house, he will be able to make a selection from the collections

corresponding to their own boutiques according to their specific clientele. In a
distribution company, he will select and buy shoes from manufacturers' collections on
a white label basis, requesting slight modifications, and will collaborate with the
studios if necessary.
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 • He is either part of the fashion house or self-employed. He has significant
technical expertise in footwear, a good understanding of style and understands
the constraints of all the industries concerned. He will sometimes take charge
of the pattern making, or else supervise it.

The • His role is to act as a link between the component suppliers (heels, lasts,
tanners' soles, etc.), the factory and the stylist/product manager duo. He/she

development is sometimes in contact with the production manager to ensure the interface
between factories and customers at the time of production. It often lives in the
production regions (Italy, Spain etc.).

manager/ • He is either paid by the factory to which he gives the work (%) or by the client

developer
(salary if integrated, if independent fixed price or %)

• In some cases (Italy, Portugal, Asia) there are very large service companies that
manage the development of brands on a large scale, taking charge of all
product development, collection and production in their area of expertise

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 • He does iconographic research to propose moodboards of trends and themes
in line with the house's creative approach*.
• He/she is constantly on the lookout for creative trends in fashion and society,
art, trade shows and innovations...
• Research and development of materials and colours*, attribution on models.
• He/she designs the products taking into account the constraints: technical,
price, footwear, strategic direction, DNA/image of the company, construction
Shoe of the collection plan.
• He/she follows the products in the factory, corrects the prototype lines and
designer validates them with his/her product manager.
• He/she designs and structures the collection plan with the product manager,
taking into account the market information provided by the product manager

* In large companies, these tasks are assigned to trends stylists specialised in

these areas.
 The actors: pattern makers, pattern designers, pattern graders, methods managers able
to calculate the cost of production, specialised technicians to follow the technical
development of components, soles, lasts, reinforcements and accessories.
From a drawing and a technical sheet, the design office ensures the transfer between the
creation and the production workshops in order to give shape to prototype collections,
and then to industrialise them for production.
They work both by hand and with pattern-making software.

The design
office -Development of new models according to the designers' drawings and data sheets
-Follow-up of the shape development, shape and drawing on shape, pattern making
-Launch sheet with materials and colours and references, assembly range, finishing details.
- Follow-up of the prototypes in the workshop and corrections at the fitting with the stylist
-Price quotation with the methods manager
-Industrial set-up of the models produced: reworking of patterns, gradations, etc.
-Follow-up, training and supervision of subcontracted workshops for off-site production
 Dessin À la main sur forme dans un bureau d’études

VÉRIFICATION DES GRADATIONS

D’UN PATRONAGE

PATRONAGE SUR LOGICIEL

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 It coordinates, via the design office, a group of manufacturers, each specializing in a particular type
of component.
The factory itself has specific know-how and manufactures a certain type of shoe: welded shoe
assembly, Blake stitching, children's shoes, men's or women's shoes, sandalette stitching or Louis
XV.
Each factory has its own hand and a specific level of quality and price criteria.
It is subdivided into different departments and sections, each with a specific function.

THE SHOE • Offices and administration: management, accounting, purchasing, logistics, HR, meeting

FACTORY
rooms, showrooms
• Design office and prototyping workshops
• Warehouse: material and component stocks, subdivided into collection and production
items, product types, etc.
• The workshop: cutting department
• Workshop: upper preparation and assembly department (often outsourced)
• The workshop: Stitching department (often outsourced)
• Workshop: Assembly line (shaping, assembly, assembly of the assembled form and soling)
• The workshop : Introduction of the heel sock branded,Cleaning and pampering service
• Workshop: Production control and packaging
• Storage room, packaging,dust bags, labelling and dispatch of finished products

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THE GENERAL
PROCESS
LASER CUTTING HAND-CUTTING OF THE PROTOTYPE CUTTING WITH PRODUCTION TOOL

CUTTING
 • Splitting
IN A • Backing
FACTORY/PREPARA
• Skiving
TION OF THE UPPER
• folding
STITCHING
DEPARTMENT
HARD TOE PUFF AND STIFFENER
THE
LASTING
VIDEO
/CEMENTING
THE UPPER
ON THE LAST
WITH THE
LASTING
MACHINE
•SANDALS ARE LASTED BY HAND
ASSEMBLY LINE: GLUING OF THE
SOLES AND UNDER THE SHOE.
END OF THE PROCESS
• Once soles and upper are cemented together on the last:
• Extraction of the last
• Nailing of the heel
• Cleaning of the upper and the sole
• Ironing the lining
• Waxing or adding a finishing on the leather if necessary
• Gluing and putting inside the shoe the heel sock ( already
embossed with the brand name)
FEW VIDEOS ABOUT SHOE
MAKING

Making of a sneaker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6yJq63d93s&t=170s
making of a gucci mocassin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEQg5ZKNVJk
Making of a lace shoe for woman, cemented construction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=HVXPurvaK5c&list=PLkUzxQvCcTZroFll7gkBrK2nPS8ePqF0X&i
ndex=26
 Shoes manufacturing process.

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