IN HIS SHOES
We step into the shoes of the brilliant Dato’ Lewré Lew and Ian Chang to discover how they create and customise the perfect pair of wedding shoes
Dato’ Lewré Lew and Ian Chang on how they create the perfect pair of wedding shoes
Shoes have become more than just a tool to protect one’s feet. They have become a symbol of fashion and a means to express an individual’s personality. Renowned shoe designer Dato’ Lewré Lew is highly dedicated to the art of shoemaking. He first discovered his passion for designing shoes during the ’80s when he was involved in a shoe factory and later honed his skills through the years. “I was very fortunate, I got to meet many great designers in the global arena from Italy, Germany, France, Australia, Japan and the UK when I began my OEM business in the early ’90s. They were my teachers, coaches and mentors,” Dato’ Lew tells us.
His shoe brand, Lewré Couture, focuses on shoe personalisation and customisation. Lewré Couture’s style is always one that will make you stand out in absolute confidence and elegance. But most of all, the brand admires and respects individuality. From the design to the style and fit, all shoes are tailored to each individual’s needs, offering highly customised shoes for any special occasion. In addition, Lewré Couture incorporates a wide variety of high-end materials ranging from fabrics, leathers (which is sourced mainly from Italy and Spain) to very fine embellishments such as Swarovski crystals and precious stones.
When designing sample styles for customers to choose from, the material he selects essentially depends on the occasion. For example, if he were designing wedding shoes, he prefers to use silk and satin to really bring out the elegance and feminity in his bridal collection. However, statementmaking exotic leathers such as crocodile, anaconda or ostrich never fail to add an individualistic touch to the collection.
The process of creating a customised shoe begins with measuring each of the customer’s feet to make a custom shoe mould. The next phase is the style consultation so that the customer’s expectation and style preference can be understood better before any selections are suggested. “During the consultation session, we will suggest the colours and materials that go with their selected outfits, making sure the shoes meet our customer’s requirements and that the style is suitable for the occasion.” Next is the fitting session where customers will try on the shoes and see if they feel comfortable walking in them. Minor adjustments will be made to perfect the fit.
According to Dato’ Lew, walking in his shoes is equivalent to feeling like a queen with a boost in style and confidence, while his vast travelling experiences and exposure to the international fashion world keep him updated in terms of trends. “Inspiration could be from travelling, reading and talking to different people.” He also reveals that Datuk Jimmy Choo has been very inspiring, helpful and supportive. “He is like a mentor to my shoe designing career ever since we met in Germany in 1996.”
We can definitely expect more from Dato’ Lew, who plans to open more Lewré Couture boutiques around the world.
Offering the best of tradition and technology to create quality designs and a highly personalised service that will keep you coming back for more, Bespoked provides far more than just tuxedos and suits. Individuality is the essence of Bespoked shoes as customers play an interactive role in the design process, choosing everything from the type of material to the colour of the shoe’s inner lining and sewing thread.
Bespoked’s Ian Chang has created a clever and fun app, which allows customers to customise their Bespoked shoes in the comfort of their own homes. All you need to do is download the 3D Bespoked Shoe app on your iPhone or iPad, to design your very own one-of-a-kind pair of shoes that reflects your style and matches your outfit. In fact, one of the main reasons Ian began his Bespoked shoe line was due to the fact that it is extremely difficult to match shoes with an outfit in Malaysia.
Once you have downloaded the app, the first step is to choose the type of shoes you would like to create. Dress shoe styles include double monk, single monk, loafer, full brogue, derby and more while casual styles include moccasin, gatsby, boat classic, men’s slippers and golf shoes.
After selecting the style, you can then choose from a wide selection of colours and materials before typing in your name, which will be embroidered onto the back of the shoes. You can even rotate your shoes with the 360 degrees rotation feature to view how each side of your design will look like. Your finalised design submission will be immediately shipped off to Spain where it will take up to four weeks to be crafted and delivered back to you.
When it comes to designing some of the Bespoked shoe collections, Ian tells us that he is inspired by the colour trends and styles of the year, while the quality of the material used is also very important. Besides delivering precision craftsmanship and quality, mixing and matching is part of the design philosophy for Bespoked shoes, similar to their tuxedos and suits.
“It depends on the colour and design of the tuxedo,” Ian replies when asked how one should match different shoes with different tuxedos. Indeed it does, and all that matters to Ian is that his customers are happy with the designs that best represent their personality.