Raffa 05.10

"With the emergence of the sneaker as a leisure shoe, the shoe world and shoe design gained significant momentum. At least, that’s what you might think. In our archives, we still have bulky design books by our modelers from the beginning of the last century. Each book contains hundreds of design sketches for classic shoes. In the classic segment, there was almost as much variety and experimenting in those days as there is today when it comes to sneakers. It was just the bandwidth for variation which was smaller, so more attention was paid to minute details. With the emergence of the 'Floris van Bommel' brand, we created space for our 'Van Bommel' brand to focus on an exclusively classic collection. Since then, we’ve been curating very carefully and with a lot of love which styles will and which won’t fit into the classic 'Van Bommel' collection. For a dress shoe, it’s all about the details, more so than for a pair of trendy sneakers. The roundness of the last, the size of the stitching on the sole rim, the level of sheen of the leather, the feel of the calfskin lining, minute differences make or break a shoe. The 'Van Bommel' collection is a timeless expression of the almost three centuries that our company has been dedicated to making shoes. Should you decide to purchase a pair, we hope you’ll enjoy the craftsmanship!"