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How are leather shoes made?

A pair of Bexley shoes is the work of highly qualified craftsmen, requiring up to 180 different manual operations. From the first design to the finishing touches, discover all the different steps involved in creating an authentic, top quality leather shoe.

Design

Designed and developed in Lyon

All our products are designed and developed in France, by our teams in Lyon.

Basing their ideas on the Zeitgeist in terms of style and comfort, and on customer feedback, the team responsible for developing our shoes put forward a sketch of their idea, accompanied by their choice of materials and colours.

This specification will guide the whole process, through every stage of manufacture.

Leather shoemaking

Manufacture

1. Pattern cutting

  • First the last-maker makes a 3D last, which will be the base for the shell.

  • Next, a 3D shell is made, on which the pattern-maker draws the lines intended by the designer (2D). This is a detailed drawing, showing seams, folded edges, perforations, and so on.

  • The drawing made on the shell is cut into separate pieces and the different parts of the upper flattened. These patterns can then be used as templates by the “clickers”.
Shoe manufacture

2. Clicking

Clickers cut the various sections from the skins. Clickers cut out the different parts of the upper using a metal die and a hydraulic press. Clickers also have to select the best skins for each section, and make sure their cutting leaves as little waste as possible. Their job also involves checking there are no defects on the surface of the skins selected.

Cutting out the leather

Cutting out the leather
Cutting out the lining

Cutting out the lining
Assemblying leather pieces

Preparing the leather lining pieces for assembly

3. Closing

  • The various elements of the upper are sewn together. The pieces of leather are first hand-thinned in the places where they will be on top of each other, so that the joins are not too thick.
  • The various elements are stitched together to form the upper: this is called closing.
Leather preparation

Thinning the pieces of leather before stitching
Stitching

Stitching
luxury shoes

Stitching and closing
  • The machinists doing the stitching also have to fold over the edges of some of the pieces, then stick and sew them for a more attractive finish.
  • Next it's time for vamping: the front and back of the shoe are assembled to form the upper, which is then laced up and ready for assembly.
Shoe factory

Edge folding
Leather shoes factory

Checking and preparing the uppers for lasting

4. Lasting and bottom assembly

  • Stiffeners are fitted between skin and lining: a counter to keep the heel in place, and a rigid “toe puff” to stop the front of the shoe losing its shape.
  • Once it has been assembled, the upper is stretched over the last that was used to make the original shell.
Shoemaking steps

Shaping the counter on the last
Leather shoes factory

An upper on a last
  • The upper is attached to a leather midsole: at last we have a three dimensional shoe.
  • The leather insole is cut out using a metal die, and glued to the leather midsole. Any surplus leather is removed with milling machine.
Leather shoes manufacturing

Preparing the bottom of the upper on a last
Shoes manufacturing

Cutting out the leather insoles
Leather shoes making

Preparing insoles before attaching

It’s making time, in this case the method used is Blake stitching, a Bexley shoes classic. This construction method involves attaching the upper directly to the outsole by stitching through all the layers in a single seam.

Blake stitching

Blake stitching
Blake construction

Blake stitching
Shoe heels

Attaching the heel

5. Finishing

  • The shoes are then burnished by hand, to bring out their natural colour and add character
  • Next the shoe leather is polished smooth for a really soft finish. This is known as buffing
  • Lastly, the shoes are inspected from every angle, every detail is reworked and further refined, to ensure an impeccable finish: these are the finishing touches
  • After a meticulous check, the shoes are finally laced, polished and boxed. They're ready to leave the production lines for delivery to a Bexley store
Hand burnishing

Hand burnishing
High quality shoes

Buffing
Portuguese shoe factory

Finishing touches
European shoe factory

Meticulous check

Deep in our workshops

Blake construction

used on leather-soled Oxford shoe

Blake construction

used on rubber-soled boots

Side stitched construction

used on rubber-soled trainer