The Brand - Zonkey Boot...

Now, I do love a good pair of well -made shoes…you know, the ones that seem to get better with time.  So, this blog post is all about a shoe brand that truly has craftsmanship at the heart of the brand…this brand is called Zonkey Boot.

Zonkey Boot was founded in January 2010 by the shoe designer Michael Rollig and his life partner, former journalist Alexandra Diaconu in Austria.  Michael has over 27 years of experience as a shoe designer, from which 15 years he dedicated to making shoes entirely by hand as the founder of Saint Crispin’s.  They met two and a half years ago when Alexandra did a story about Michael for Forbes Romania, where Alexandra was working as Editor at the time. Shortly after that, they became a couple and began thinking of projects to undertake, and subsequently Zonkey Boot was born. The aim of the brand was to create a range of high-end shoes dedicated to men who appreciate craftsmanship, thoughtful technical features and design that show the intended purpose of use.

 So, although the brand is Austrian the shoes themselves are made in a Northern Italian shoe factory called Walles Calzaturificio in Rossano Veneto which is run by the Giacometti brothers, who Michael and Alexandra had met only a few months prior to Zonkey Boot’s inception.  Walles also produces high-end shoes for mainstream fashion brands but also keeps alive crafting techniques and makes high quality shoes like Norwegian hand-stitched, hand-welted shoes or moccasins sewn by hand. The Zonkey Boot range consists of many different types of shoes from Hand-welted shoes and boots, classics, Traveller, Leisure shoes and hand-sewn moccasins.

The brand works with only a handful of tanneries from Italy, Germany and the UK which specialise in certain materials. They use calf suede’s and vegetable-tanned full grain calf leathers which are stained by hand. Other fabrics that are used include nubuck, alligator leather, canvas and tweed. An interesting fact that Alexandra told me was that Michael had searched for years and years for good leather laces that don’t break… (I’m sure we can all appreciate how annoying that is) and that he finally developed ones which are round, smooth, thin (2.3mm) and most importantly DON’T BREAK!

 Now for the design part of the shoes, I wanted to get an understanding of what thoughts and processes go into designing the shoes, so, below Michael details the design process for Zonkey Boot shoes.

 “Since early childhood I feel punished by a strong sense of what is right or wrong in matters of clothing and other desired objects. I couldn’t bear wearing ‘wrong’ things myself, but I never cared about other people wearing or having ‘wrong’ things. Having worked for many years in this field I don’t distinguish so much anymore between right or wrong, but I still have a strong animosity against things which are not the ‘real’ thing. I am aware that clothing is a means of social distinction, though nobody talks about taste in fashion anymore. I am unable to constitute a shoe as tasteful or tasteless, so I stick with right or wrong and real and not real. Somehow my shoes always turn out to be reduced to the minimum of decoration and the maximum of shape or form. During the developing process I mostly take away details rather than adding something and getting the proportions right often takes several attempts. I am not a man of quick decisions. I find it hard to put together a collection from single shoe models and this is where Alexandra has her most important part in the process. She can spend hours and days going through colour swatches, finding combinations of materials and soles, which make the model outstanding. She knows in advance what is going to look good, whereas I would have to try it out first. I think skills, tools and materials – she thinks styles, collection and brand.” (Michael Rollig)    

I absolutely love the shoes that are on offer for SS12 at Zonkey Boot, there are so many great styles and distinctions which can be seen via the shapes (including the toe), fabric choices and what I really like is the brands use of colour and how some shoes can be all one colour, other’s fade into lighter/darker hues (see the brown boots) and others are vibrant in colour (blue moccasins).  Now, I wouldn’t finish this post without telling you my favourite shoe…and it’s a tossup between the brown boot or the bright blue moccasins…but as a gentleman that likes his shoes as smart as possible I would probably have to go with the boots, they are just sublime!

Zonkey Boot is currently unavailable in the UK market, but due to a high demand as of December 2011 an online transactional website is now available at: www.zonkeyboot.com

I would like to thank Alexandra and Michael for their time as I know you have had a rather busy start to the year, I wish this new brand the best of luck for the future, but as I’m sure you will agree, with this kind of offering on show…I think little luck is needed!

The Brand - tuktuk

TukTuk is the next brand to be featured on ‘The Bespoke Gentleman’ blog and is a menswear brand heralding out of Sri Lanka but with firm roots from the UK. They offer gentlemanly staples but with elements of quirkiness, simplicity, effortless dressing and dare I say a little playful (see camera shirt on the TukTuk website).  I personally think that tuktuk’s shirting is the highlight of this collection, with so many great styles in beautiful colours and as you will find out when you have finished reading this post, they also offer all their shirting in a ‘Bespoke’ shirting option, which obviously went down well with me.  Anyway, I was granted a fine little interview with the man behind the brand…so Enjoy!

So first off how did the name of your brand come about, seen as it’s named after one of Thailand’s modes of transport?

A ‘tuk’ or ‘tuktuk’ has become synonymous with not just Thailand, but most of Asia (and Sri Lanka very much so). In the early days of setting up the brand, I seemed to spend the majority of my life in the back of one. It just seemed right to name the brand after one.

How long has the brand been around for?

The brand was launched at the beginning of 2009. In March we will be 3 years old.

You state on your website that your garments are inspired by South Asia, what does South Asia mean to you, your brand and how you go about designing your collection?

South Asia means many things to me but primarily, the one thing that ’gets me’ the most about this part of the World is the amazing use of colours and patterns – on a day to day basis you see certain things sometimes that really shouldn’t work aesthetically, but they just do. Inspiration also come from my surroundings and day to day life; fabric markets, fruit stalls, bus stands, tuktuk rides, old record sleeves, music, art galleries, people, architecture, colours, food, beaches, religion, festivals etc. Anything really. Originally hailing from grey and dreary Manchester I suppose I now enjoy the more colourful things in life!

One thing that I felt was refreshing about your SS12 collection was the colour palette, how did you go about choosing these colours?

The concept for the collection was loosely influenced by the famous Dutch Fort in Galle, Sri Lanka – which is where the S/S12 Lookbook was shot. I have spent quite a bit of time there over the past few years and it has a very special feel to the place. With this place in mind I started to source various fabric swatches and sketch down a few ideas; the colour palette then evolved naturally from that.

You state that you source your materials locally and that your garments are produced locally aswell...was that difficult in finding the best places in a foreign country?

It was very, very difficult to start with. In the first year when our quantities were very small, some of the better factories didn’t really want that much to do with us as we were un-established and not ordering en masse. Thankfully though, with a bit of persistence, we have now managed to source 3 or 4 excellent factories which are more family run, and are happy to work with a smaller brand and help them grow. We’ve been quite lucky with getting our foot in the door with these factories as our shirting factory is regarded as one of the best on the island and has been making shirts for 30+ years, and our leather factory was the first factory in Sri Lanka to own their own tannery, and is one of the longest running leather factories on the island.

 In my opinion your clothes represent British styling with a South Asian influence that can be seen through the use of colour, would you agree?

Yes, that is exactly what we are trying to get across!

Having looked at your blog and selling record boxes I take it that music is possibly an influence on your brand or is it simply something that you enjoy and believe your customers enjoy?

We all enjoy our music here at tuktuk, and we feel that the type of customer we attract enjoys their music too. With the products we have done so far, we feel they tie in with the lifestyle side of the brand which is a route we would like to go down long term. As for the brand being influenced by music, very much so; we have quite an interesting concept in the pipeline which involves one of the old record labels over here – that’s still work in progress for now.

So, you have a bespoke shirting option on your website, how did this come about and what does the bespoke shirting option offer the consumer?

The main reason for the bespoke shirting option is that we believe certain customer’s like to have some kind of say in the garment they are buying. This is what the Bespoke option allows the customer to do; the customer can alter the design of their shirt by choosing their collar style, pocket style, button style etc, or as we like to put it, ‘putting a personal touch on the details that matter’. In addition to this we also offer the customer the option of sending in their measurements and we make a shirt to their size requirements. We are currently developing a new website which will incorporate a fully functional Bespoke section which will make it even easier for the customer to order a Bespoke shirt (new website is due in March/April).

I love the photography from your SS12 shoot, the locations are amazing, I believe they give a sort of vintage / classic appeal and with the mix of colour coming from the garments the contrast is amazing…where is the shoot located and how did you go about choosing the specific locations?

As I mentioned above, the shoot was done at the Dutch Fort in Galle, Sri Lanka. It’s a registered World Heritage Site and as soon as you walk through the Rampart walls it almost transports you back to the old colonial era and beyond; it’s like time never moved on. The majority of the shoot was done in an old abandoned Colonial manor which was very fun to do. The photography was done by the very talented Sri Lankan photographer, Asanka Ratnayake.

How have your collections grown and developed over the years?

Our product range is constantly improving/growing. Our choice of fabrics is also getting better; both in terms of quality and design. And our collections are now the realisations of proper concepts and ideas, as opposed to just being a load of shirts in a lookbook!

Where would you like to see TukTuk in 10 years time?

I would love the brand to develop into a lifestyle brand. In fact, we are already pushing the brand in that direction what with the new Record Boxes and iPad cases etc.

And finally, how would you sum up your brand in one sentence?

Specialising in bespoke shirts made from vintage, check and floral cloths - we also do lots of other wonderful products!

I would like to thank Mark for the Interview, I know you’re a busy man, and I also wish tuktuk the best of luck in the future and I will look forward to seeing what tuktuk have to offer in future collections. For more information on tuktuk and to see all pictures from the SS12 lookbook, visit: www.wearetuktuk.com

ASOS’ ‘Made in England’ footwear range…

I first heard about ASOS’ ‘Made in England’ footwear range a couple of years back and have always admired the styles on show.  Tapping into the growing popularity of traditional gentleman’s shoes whilst incorporating a modern edge into the design process, the latest collection features Chukka boots, wedge brogues, desert boots and derby shoes, with all shoes in the collection being made in Northampton.  The collection is, in the words of the ASOS footwear buyer David Clark “A collection of the best of British footwear and craftsmanship”.   The below photo’s showcase some of the current collection with my favourite being the blue derby shoes, which look absolutely brilliant. 

 Two-tone wedge Desert boots - £140.00

 Leather and Suede Chukka boots - £150.00

Blue Derby Shoes - £120.00

For more information on all the shoes in the ASOS ‘Made in England’ collection, visit: www.asos.com

One part Rock & Roll, One part Savile Row… that’s ‘Bespoken’ to me and you!

Now I have only recently discovered this brand via trawling through the internet in search of new innovative menswear brands, and what first caught my eye with this brand was the name, Bespoken.  Bespoken is a new menswear brand created by two sets of brothers who came together through playing gig’s across America, during which they quickly realised that they all had a passion for style and well crafted clothing.  It also helps when one set of brothers has roots in fine British clothing due to growing up in the family business of shirt maker’s Turnbull & Asser. 

Now ‘The Bespoke Gentleman’ blog is a true advocator of showcasing brands that strongly believe in quality and craftsmanship and Bespoken does not disappoint.  All Bespoken fabrics come from both UK or Italian mills and all shirting and ties are manufactured at the Turnbull & Asser factories which are located outside of London.

So onto the collection for SS12 and it’s an enjoyably relaxed take on tailoring with my highlight’s of  the collection being the double breasted suit with shorts in a charcoal grey, the penny collar shirt, the silver grey suit and most definitely the blue suede monk shoes seen with many of the below photos.

Oh and I almost forgot a little sentence how the brand name ‘Bespoken’ came about…In Olde England, “Bespoke” meant creating tailored clothing made at a customer’s behest.  Back then, the gentleman’s surname was written on the actual fabric, hence the garment was “spoken” for…brilliant!

For more information on Bespoken, visit the website at: www.bespokenclothiers.com

The Bespoke Gentleman reads PORT (again) – Issue 4

PORT magazine has well and truly become one of my favourite reads and if you are a regular reader of this blog you will already have read a few posts about past issues.  The reason why I’m blogging about PORT again is because Issue 4 is a stellar issue and makes me truly sit up and appreciate such great and enjoyably varied journalism. 

Highlights from this issue were the style section from start to finish, the book shelves of the famous – an intriguing insight into different gentlemen’s bookshelves (it had me turning the magazine upside down to see what Mr. Tom Ford reads), the cover story about Benjamin Millepied, a great piece about India’s growing Coca-Cola type drink called Thums Up, an insightful look into the NBA poster boy  basketballer Lebron James and finally I absolutely loved reading the piece by Richard Grant and the amount of crazy situations that he has experienced (brilliant). 

I was contemplating a couple of weeks ago why I enjoyed PORT so much when I’m a 23yr old graduate with little money and would probably not generally be considered the target audience of this magazine, but with such great, varied and inspired journalism that is present within this magazine I believe age is irrelevant if you enjoy fine journalism.   Finally, I’ve said it here before and I will say it again…long may PORT magazine continue.