Confused yet? We were too. Not so much with Sapatero Manila partner, Jim Pacifico’s ironic statement. But with the fact that the Philippines has a proud tradition of craftsmanship and a legacy of generational talent when it comes to handmade shoes yet let’s be honest, to the discerning gentleman with an eye for the finer details, Filipino-made shoes that live up to the standards that we judge brands from overseas are a rarity. Certainly, there is a bit more effort towards sturdier construction methods compared to “fast fashion footwear” but let’s call a spade a spade: Majority of Filipino-crafted shoes are simply not able to match what others are offering. There. We’ve said it. Overall shape, finish, materials and style…while perfectly serviceable in general terms, there’s something about our product that leaves you wanting. The classic elements are there, as is the effort to instill it with hand-crafted qualities. So, it begs the question if we’re as good as we sell ourselves to be, we are why aren’t we leading the industry of handmade shoes?
We dropped by Sapatero Manila to get to the bottom of why that is exactly and what they’ve committed themselves to, to remedy that.
Once upon a time the city of Marikina was touted as “The Shoe Capital of the Asia”, with a thriving industry built around the cobbler’s trade. We weren’t going to put the Italians out of business, but we did have a claim to fame in terms of a reputation for a decently turned-out product, and we could do it at a profitable scale. Over the course of two or three decades, China took bigger and bigger bites out of our margins and there was less to gain by properly handcrafting shoes vs. making a quick buck with more disposable varieties of footwear. With a waning market competitiveness came waning interest in continuous improvement in trade-skills and standards. Our once proud shoemaking industry came to a standstill, stagnated and some might even argue, regressed backward.
For Original Founder of Sapatero Manila Raymond Villanueva, the mission was simple: indulge in his passion for great shoes by trying to recapture some of the handcrafted Marikina magic from years ago under a brand of his own. There were still some shoemakers who had the skills and there was ageing equipment that was still up to the task. And so, make shoes he did. Mostly for family and friends at first and mostly as a passion project, and it was this passion that pushed him to take a long, hard look at his product. As somewhat of a connoisseur of shoes, he asked himself, how could he improve his shoes to be on par with offerings from the Italian and Japanese makers he so loved. How could he break the mold that defined “Marikina Made” and seemed to hinder good shoes from becoming great shoes. The answer was simple. First, he needed more partners to share the dream, he ended up with 3 more like-minded people. Jerwin Lim, Jerard Jader and Jim Pacifico. More importantly, Sapatero Manila also had to take several steps backwards before being able to move forward by undoing decades of “business as usual” habits in order to take it to the next level.
Start at the Beginning
As I learned from Jim, the foundation of a great-looking shoe is it’s last. That is, the base wooden (or often synthetic nowadays) form that the shoe is first molded on. That recognizable shape and profile, that if were honest, lacks some lithe grace is what really makes Marikina-made instantly recognizable: The somewhat clunky silhouette. We’ve spent decades building shoes on the same one-size-fits-all generic last and never thought to change that to keep up with changing tastes and current shoe design. That was first on the list to change. Jim also points out that while we do have a local leather Industry, Sapatero recognized where our local materials would be suitable, where it fell short and where the use of more carefully produced imported leathers had to come in. They looked what machines they needed to invest in to level up and how more revered makers were constructing and crafting finer shoes. They took stock and started the journey to move their product closer to the standards that more elevated makers are held to. This required tutelage for one of the partners under Stefano Bemer in Florence to relearn the craft and trade and bring those techniques home to update again, decades of old habits and standards that kept our shoemaking standards stuck at “good enough” but never demanding more. And so, in pushing for more they reached for loftier goals and higher standards and dreamt: They would take part in the World Championship of Shoemaking. Yes. That’s a thing. And for those who are into hi-quality, handmade shoes it is THE thing.
Stepping into Bigger Shoes
No one would be able to guess how a little shoemaking workshop from the Philippines would capture the attention of the judges in 2024. Judges who have seen it all from all the big names in the world, judges who have worked at John Lobb and Gaziano & Girling and other great names we’re going to be hard to impress. Yet, by landing in the Top 10 amongst all entries, Sapatero obviously showed them a spark of something special. Their shoe showed, craftsmanship of equal level to bespoke makers from all over the world, and an imaginative design that hinted that this was a workshop to watch.
While already operating locally on a level far above the average, Sapateros results from the Worlds, allow those of us who walk through the doors of their Makati shop, to sample a standard that you would only find in the great shoemaking workshops of London, Italy, Japan or Korea. They offer the classics as well as more imaginative designs via several tiers. An expanding Ready To Wear Line (soon to be available in a Mall space), a made-to-measure option, where some options and customization on shoes built on a standard last can be made and a Full Bespoke service with all the bells and whistles like a one-off last molded to your exact foot shape, multiple fittings where a draft or fitting shoe is produced in cheaper materials, fitted, cut apart and refitted. A process repeated 3-4 times, until it’s shape, materials, and final details are exactly the way the client wants it. “The perfect fit can actually be a very subjective thing” Jim explains, “Some clients want shoes that fit like a glove, some expect their ideal shoe to have some roominess here or there.
The bespoke process is about finding what perfect fit means to a client and interpreting those nuances into a beautiful shoe that fits the client’s idea of perfect fit”. A process that can take as long as 3-4 months and multiple fittings comes a cost that begins at P90,000 and could easily top P200,000. If you’re more accustomed to picking up a pair of inexpensive oxfords that will see you through half a year at best, the idea of shoes costing ten to twenty times as much might be staggering. But for afficionados who understand the craft and what a similar level of service in Savile Row, for example, will cost, you’re looking at a bench-made product priced where it needs to be. High-level craftsmanship has a cost. The learning of craftsmanship of this level has a cost. A guarantee of uncompromised quality comes at a fee. Taste and curatorship have a price too that all adds up to ability to repeatedly resole and refurbish a beautiful shoe of uncompromised craftsmanship made from the very best of materials to your exact foot shape. Provided you take care of your shoes, a well-made bespoke pair of shoes may last 10-20 years with a few visits back to the workshop every few years.
If you are an appreciator that doesn’t need a special occasion (typically one’s own wedding), suddenly what seemed like too much of an indulgence might start to make some very practical sense when you do the math spread out over 15 years or so. But even when you take a pragmatic view of the cost-over-time, it doesn’t devalue the sartorial magic of the bespoke shoe experience that reminds you are indulging in something beyond the ordinary. In fact, a proudly Filipino-made product that is beyond the ordinary and can be judged to the same uncompromising standards we judge shoes from anywhere in the world has been what Sapatero Manila has always strove for since the very beginning. And their shoes have definitely climbed a steep path that not many have dreamt to tread to get to where they sit at the top.