Stefano Bemer

Traditionally under-the-radar shoemaker Stefano Bemer briefly craned its head into the limelight when Daniel Day-Lewis spent one of his regular between-role sabbaticals learning the art of shoemaking in the Florentine atelier. Mostly, though, Stefano Bemer doggedly puts cordwaining integrity before any desire for wider recognition. “I feel utmost respect to those bespoke makers who remain loyal to their identity with their techniques, their style and their modus operandi,” explains Tommaso Melani, who took over the company on the death of his late friend, the eponymous Bemer.

It’s an ethos embodied in a house style characterised by long caps and deep wings, an impressive assortment of leathers and a special emphasis on the collaborative nature of bespoke creation. “We find that most of our Asian clients are