Our Raw Materials
Leather is the most important building block of each men’s shoe, and its production is a process that requires masterful skill. The following rule of thumb holds true for all quality shoes: the more the leather has been processed, the higher it is in quality. And this comes, naturally, at a price. Roughly 47 percent of the production costs involved in making a men’s shoe are due to the costly raw material.
Our calf tanneries come from North West Spain, Germany and Italy.
The types of leather below represent a full array of leather skins. They are all used in luxury shoe production and they differ from the “look” and “texture” point of view.
Painted Calf Leather
Crust calf leather (painted calf) enables artisans to hand paint the pieces with special creams and brushes. The look is very artisanal. Source is Conceria Tolio from Italy (same crust material used by Santoni, Berlutti, Andres Sendra, among many others). Learn more about Conceria Tolio on https://conceriatolio.com/storia/. Raw leathers are then hand painted by our artisans.
Besides the “plain” Painted Calf leather, we also offer it engraved with different textures, like full grain or pebble grain.
Box Calf Leather
The majority of quality men’s shoes are made from the hides of calves. Box calf is primarily distinguished by its fineness, pliability, and grain. Box Calf leathers are hand painted by our artisans.
Calf Suede
Also called “Suede” or “Lux Suede”. This leather is created from the underside of the animal hide, as a result it is softer, and more supple and can have the appearance of a “furry nap”.
Kid Suede
Kid Suede is the most soft, velvety suede leather type which comes from small goat skins. The skins are pretty small which increases the price of leather (consumption per pair). It has a more refined finish with a smaller grain on the surface.
Polished Calf
Polished calf refers to rectified grain calf. This eliminates any skin imperfections. The look is not as natural as a regular, plain full grain, but the look is very good, luxurious. This type of leather is quite expensive because of the post-production processes that it needs at the tannery. Polished Calf Leathers are hand painted by our artisans.
Patent Leather
A type of leather finish whereby the surface is treated to create a highly glossy, shiny appearance.
Nubuck Leather
Lightweight, supple leather made up of the most outer layer of a hide, the surface is buffed to give the grain a light velvety finish called a “nap”.
Sartorial Materials
We offer a full array of sartorial fabrics, flannels and velvets. Sartorial patterns like Tweed, Plaid, Tartan, Herringbone, Leopard, etc.
The result of mixing these sartorial materials with classic hand painted leather in a shoe, can be truly astonishing.
Exotic Skins
We offer genuine exotic skins, including Alligator, Python and Ostrich skins, matching our painted calf base colors.
Alligator Genuine Skin
“Alligator mississippiensis” skin renders a very attractive and fashionable leather. The leather is strong, supple, durable and very expensive. A bony layer within the skin adds a protective shield, while a dimple on each scale makes a very exotic look.
Hailing from the Southeast USA and frequently harvested from farm-bred gators as well as from wild animals, American alligator skin is a classic, durable and versatile leather. The American alligator’s hide is the soft and more pliable material. This is because the skin of this reptile is less bony than the skin of crocodiles. This softness makes the alligator’s skin easier to work with than the skin of other reptiles, making it easier to work with for cutting, stitching and folding.
Ostrich Genuine Skin
Ostrich leather is one of the finest and most durable leathers. It’s a luxurious leather well know for its softness, flexibility and durability. In spite of its softness, Ostrich leather is unsurpassed for its tactile strength. It is, in fact, one of the strongest leathers available. Naturally occurring oils in the leather contribute to its durability, preventing cracking, even under extreme temperatures and sun exposure.
The main distinguishing feature of ostrich leather is the quill or feather socket markings. The “full quill” area of the leather is the most sought after and therefore the most expensive type of ostrich leather. The quill pattern is the result of large follicles which each contained a feather.
Python Genuine Skin
Snakeskins are very desirable for shoes because of the unique grain, scales, and color patterns. Snakes are skinned in two ways, cut down the belly scales leaving the small scales in the center, “belly” or “front” cut python, and cut down the back leaving the wide belly scale in the center, called “back” cut python. We use the “front” cut python.
The scales were the snakes protection from the elements and are essentially like a callous, dead skin. The size of the scale will vary depending upon the area of the skin cut. The scales have a “lip” open toward the tail will grab and aid the snake in crawling. This lip is your assurance that the snake is genuine.
Shirt Fabric Suppliers
Cotonificio Albini
From its fundation in Bergamo in 1876 (Bergamo), Cotonificio Albini leads the creation of fabrics for shirts thanks to its creativity, investigation and innovation. Albini uses the best raw materials in the world to make its fabrics, that’s why each shirt made by Hiploose is a unique piece of excellent quality and durability. The result is a brilliant shirt with a soft touch really nice to wear.
Thomas Mason
Created in 1796 by Sir Thomas Mason, it is one of the principal icons of the English textile industry. It started producing fabrics in Lancashire and after some time it became an icon of elegance whose headquarter was set in London. The Albini family got Thomas Mason in 1992 and this enterprise is nowadays the guardian of its rich heritage, composed by 700 volumes. This collection of inestimable worth includes the textile designs of the last 200 years.
Thomas Mason’s fabrics represent nowadays the purest English style, showing the eccentricity touch that characterizes this well-known brand in the world. The best cotton, the thinnest threads, the closest attention during the production and the investigation in style guarantee the excellence of this high-quality fabric.
Canclini 1925
The History of Canclini begins more than eighty years ago in the Como area. Nowadays, thanks to their passion for work and technology, they control the whole production cycle of their fabrics, designed and produced paying the closest attention to details.
Style, product, quality and service are the necessary elements to get to satisfy the most exigent clients. This familiar enterprise is really attached to tradition but they are focused on the future at the same time, developing increasingly sophisticated high-quality fabrics.
Loro Piana
Loro Piana is synonymous with timeless elegance so they have never been interested on following the trends because Loro Piana knows their clients and they are conscious of their sensitivity to the quality and good taste. That’s the reason why their commitment to high-quality is incredible: the fibers are carefully selected and controlled. Ultimately, a shirt made of these fabrics belongs to the upper segment of the market.
Liberty
The renowned Liberty fabrics first showed up in London in 1875, when Arthur Lasenby Liberty proposed their colorful fabrics to their clients. However, it is not until the 20th century when they got their worldwide fame thanks to their collection “Tana Lawn” in floral motifs that is yet available.
Liberty proposes a great variety of fine colored prints used by designers and couturiers. Mary Quant, Yves Saint Laurent, Bill Blas or Cacharel among others have contributed to their success.
Söktas
Stablished in 1971 and quoting in stock exchange since 1995, Soktas is a producing enterprise specialized in mixed cotton fabrics. Its reputation is due to an excellent product exported around the world. Focused on the client, Soktas offers a first quality product, including more than 300,000 fabrics.
Albiate
Albiate 1830 is a brand that offers a wide selection of high-quality fabrics for sport, denim and jacquard shirts. They combine the experience with the know-how of the Albini Group. Albiate 1830 offers a fresh and creative collection.
The Albini Group was founded in 1876, being a family business that is headed by the fifth generation nowadays.
The attachment to their country is very important for the Albini family, who decided to keep the most part of their production chain in Italy.
Sidogras
Sidogras, S.A makes fabrics for shirts and blouses since 1953. They are leaders on the Spanish market but they are also present in the international one, having sales agents in 30 countries. It belongs to a group of enterprises in the textile sector. It has an integrated production system that includes spinning, weaving and finishing as well as a permanent stock of 4 million of fabric meters. The results of this process make possible an effective client’s service, quality and competitive prices.