Schuhmacher

Antonio Meccariello

Antonio Meccariello makes custom and made-to-order shoes by hand in Benevento, carving his own shoe forms, and charges far less than comparable makers.

Antonio Meccariello works in Benevento, in Campania, making bespoke and made-to-order shoes and carving his own lasts. He is unusual in offering hand-welted construction at prices well below comparable makers, and he is widely regarded as one of the best-value serious shoemakers in Europe.

BespokeMaßkonfektionKonfektionsware

An illustration of a welted shoe of the kind the house makes. Not a photograph of the house's own work.

Hausstil — Schulter: Nicht dokumentiert

Brustweite — extensive handwork

Anproben 1–3 16–40 Wochen

Von $2,700 niedrigster dokumentierter Wert, umgerechnet

Value in the strict sense

Value is a word this site uses carefully: it means the same construction and finish for less money, not cheapness. Meccariello qualifies. Hand-welted construction, hand-carved lasts and a high standard of finishing, at prices closer to good ready-to-wear than to bespoke.

The explanation is geography and overheads rather than any compromise in the shoe. A workshop in Benevento does not carry Mayfair or Ginza costs.

The range

Bespoke on a carved last, made-to-order on the workshop's lasts, and a ready-to-wear line: all hand-welted or Goodyear-welted depending on the tier, and all made in the same workshop.

The maker carves his own lasts, which is unusual: most bespoke shoemakers buy lasts roughed out by a specialist and finish them. Doing the whole thing in-house is part of why the prices work.

How the price works

The construction is the same as makers charging two or three times as much: hand-welted, leather-lined, on a last the maker carves himself. What is absent is a shop in an expensive city, a distribution network and a marketing operation.

The trade-off is access. Commissioning means dealing with a small workshop in Campania directly, with the communication and lead times that implies, and there is no showroom in which to try shoes on first.

Cutting your own lasts

Most shoemakers below the top tier buy lasts. Cutting them is a separate craft, and a maker who does it controls the single element that determines how a shoe looks and fits, which is why the practice is worth flagging even though a customer never sees a last. It is also the main reason a small independent workshop can offer shapes that no factory range contains.

Handgenäht (Rahmennaht)

Haltefalz aus der Brandsohle herausgearbeitet

der Haltestreifen ist Teil der Brandsohle

Neu besohlbar: wiederholt

Goodyear-Rahmengenäht

Einlagenrippe auf die Brandsohle geklebt

Das Gemming ist aufgeklebt: das Teil, das versagt

Neu besohlbar: mehrmals

Blake

eine Naht durch alle Lagen

die Naht verläuft in den Schuh hinein

Neu besohlbar: mit einer Blake-Maschine

Geklebt

Sohle auf das Oberleder geklebt

nur geklebt

Neu besohlbar: in der Regel nicht

Oberleder Brandsohle Rahmen Laufsohle

Wie eine Sohle befestigt wird und ob sie ersetzt werden kann Der Welt in den beiden linken Konstruktionen trägt die Sohlennaht, sodass die Sohle abgenommen werden kann, ohne den Schaft zu beeinträchtigen. Beim Handwelten wird der Grat aus der Brandsohle selbst geschnitten; beim Goodyear-Welt wird ein Leinenstreifen aufgeklebt, und dieser Streifen ist der Teil, der schließlich versagt. Diagramm erstellt für Il Sartoriale.

Der Datensatz

Land

Italy

Service levels

Bespoke · Made-to-measure · Ready-to-wear

Schulter