Until this day, Made in China still has quite the stigma around it. For many it is synonymous with low quality, poor working conditions and plagiarism. But in reality things have changed massively over the past decade. We have been extremely transparent with the fact where our shoes are made from the start. We stand behind the quality and traditional craftsmanship our products embody and are proud to make shoes at this level in a country that is commonly not known for high quality footwear. Having our workshop in Shanghai, China is allowing us to make handwelted (semi-)bespoke shoes that, were they made in Europe, would cost 4-5 times as much. Obviously, there are still things we are going to need to improve and work on in the future, but that is also reflected in the price and we can only get better from here. Certainly an ambition of us will be to develop Chinese shoemaking to a similar relevance that Japanese shoemaking has reached over the past 1-2 decades. Of course, there are big cultural differences and only time will tell, where Chinese high end shoemaking will fall within the market and international shoemaking dynamic in the long run.
One thing that can been seen today already, is a surge in high quality craftsmanship and a better awareness for quality control and the importance of well made things in China. With a growing middle and upper class within China, the demand for high end domestic products is growing equally. Western countries are in many ways still sleeping on the great products that are coming out of Asia or are oblivious to the fact that most consumer goods and electronics are already made in Asia. Without question, European makers still have the advantage of heritage, easy access to tools, machinery and most importantly raw materials (upper leathers, stiffeners, insoles, outsoles, etc.). But by having our head quarter in Germany, it allows us to source materials and tools right here in Europe quite easily without having to rely on middlemen. This way we can take advantage of the relatively low cost but highly skilled labor in China, reinforcing great working conditions as well as a fair relatively high wage for our staff and still work with the same materials, renown shoemakers in Europe work with. This allows us to make shoes that follow traditional shoemaking techniques. European makers and factories rely too much on their heritage while they are having a hard time innovating and instead decrease quality and increase prices. Finding labor who are willing to work in a field that is as demanding as handmade shoemaking has also become increasingly difficult in Europe. This of course isn’t true everywhere but a more general observation.
Working with my team in China is very inspirational. In every conversation I can sense the excitement and passion for the craft. Just this passion alone is reason enough for me, that Chinese shoemaking will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. The shoes we make are a passion product and probably a bit irrational, as there are various easier ways to make a decent pair of shoes much cheaper and more efficiently. But for me, the products and amount of handwork speak for themselves. The shoes we make are something I am personally proud to make, wear and represent as well as compare to international competitors. I am sure, many will still not buy our products, purely for the reason that our shoes are made in China. But for anyone else, who has an open mind and can accept that things are changing, our offering is quite unique in its value and global scale. I certainly am very happy how innovative the shoe industry has become in the last few years. Wayman Bespoke is certainly trying to make its own mark in changing the way you would commonly commission a pair of bespoke shoes.
I value your option, so please let’s discuss further in the comments!
Simon
