The shoe heeling process begins with the sole, automatic heel nailing machine(QF-682)

Article from:   www.news.com.au

FOR a shoe designer, Andrew McDonald gives surprisingly short shrift to the super-high heels seen on the spring-summer collections runways in New York, Milan and Paris this season. "They are not cheap to buy and the wearability is extremely limited," he says. "They are the purest form of fashion escapism."

Several tumbles at Max Azria in New York and at Brian Reyes, where embattled models eventually removed their shoes altogether, continued the debate from last season (models dropped like flies at Prada, Pucci and DSquared2) about whether high heels can go any higher, and it's clear McDonald errs towards the Left Bank ballet flats rather than Christian Louboutin skyscrapers side of the debate.

"I've had so many requests recently for really high heels, one girl came in wanting 14cm heels just to wear to a party. But these shoes are all about appearances, people can't actually walk in them. To me the real art is making the shoe look beautiful but designing it in such a way that it fulfils all of its mechanical functions also. And that's a really difficult thing to do."

But that is the challenge McDonald sets himself as Sydney's best bespoke shoemaker. The average heel height in his William Street atelier is 7cm to 8cm, but if that sounds a little bland, consider that McDonald is a shoe magician who can realise any custom-made footwear fantasy in myriad colours, designs, leathers and finishes.

But gratification is not instant; each pair of shoes takes about 40 hours of painstaking craftsmanship, beginning with a consultation during which feet measurements are taken and design requirements discussed. Will the toe be rounded or razor-sharp? Is it a kitten or block heel you require? Are there any additional tassles, studs or trims required to realise your ultimate shoe? At a fitting three weeks later, McDonald produces a "foot toile", made from scrap leather, to try the shoe for size and make further adjustments to heel height, fit and appearance. Four to six weeks will pass before your third and final fitting with the finished shoe.

In addition to patience, McDonald's custom-made craft requires deep pockets, with his shoes priced from $800 to $1200 for women and $1600 to $2000 for men. He also produces a cheaper, ready-to-wear range that starts at $450 and tops out at $1200. It is almost as beautiful as his bespoke creations, with this season's offerings born out of finding new ways of using the humble zip. Reworked to create decorative embellishments, zip trims feature on belts and on men's and women's boots, while rosettes made from zip strapping garnish T-bars and pumps.

Calf, deer and kid leathers feature in McDonald's autumn-winter collection, which incorporates textured, hand-stained and polished finishes in a colour palette ranging from silvers and bright reds to classic tan and black. "You need to have some elements that reference the trends of the season, but you also need to have your personal trademark style," he says.

McDonald has created shoes for films including the Star Wars trilogy, Superman Returns and Wolverine, but his core clientele comprises professional women in their 30s and 40s who work in creative industries such as architecture, design and the arts.

"They really get what I do," he says. "It's a very personal process for me because I've built the shoes, I have an idea in my mind of the person who'd be wearing them and the environment they would wear them in."

Cue the Cinderella fantasy: "The right person does always walk in, they put the shoes on and the shoes come to life."

If you've ever wanted to slip on a pair of bespoke shoes you have created, McDonald is offering a new five-day shoemaking course with dates available from May 4 through to August. At $1950 it's not cheap, but not only will you learn all about the art of shoemaking, you will get to keep -- and wear -- the shoes you design, doubtless to the envy and admiration of your friends. The process includes making a pattern and the shoe toile before cutting the leather, stitching and punching it and finally fitting the sole and heel. But I have to admit, I have my doubts. Could I really create a pair of shoes I would wear with pride?

"Yeah, we really push you," McDonald says with a laugh. "Usually with custom-made (orders) in the workshop it takes longer because there are so many elements involved, but this course is one on one.

"You are either working with me or one other person and we are there with you every moment, so we can push the process along more quickly."

Imagine the thrill of saying: "I made these myself," pointing down to your entirely individual and perfectly fitted shoes.

It's that combination of form and function that McDonald finds most rewarding about his job.

"When you make a shoe for a customer and everything works, you bring comfort and joy to someone. If they have hard-to-fit feet you can make shoes for them that change their lives, and that's a really great feeling."

Despite his passion for the business, it took McDonald some time to discover his true vocation. He trained as a nurse in Sydney before working as a medical photographer, which led to general photography work. It was while photographing a shoemaker in London that he thought "it seemed like a really great way to make a living, and I was also interested in the idea of reviving a dying craft".

He returned to Australia to study shoemaking at Sydney's Ultimo TAFE, then in 1996 won a Churchill fellowship to study with the industry's best in France and Britain.

"To see businesses that were surviving making handmade shoes in a traditional fashion was incredibly inspiring," he says. "The most important thing was that it gave me the opportunity to examine their business models and then transfer them to an Australian example."

After 18 years in the business, McDonald estimates there are just 12 people in Australia making bespoke shoes professionally.

"The industry is dying here," he laments. "There are less and less opportunities for me to source materials and trims and things, and the old craftspeople I learned from here, the Mediterranean men now in their 80s, are all dying as well. In the early days I had some really great mentors, but a lot of it now is really finding my own way."

In an attempt to rejuvenate the industry, McDonald runs a work-experience program in his studio that attracts students from across the world. The shoemaking courses (there is also a 10-day course) are aimed at generating interest in custom-made footwear.

"It's also an opportunity for me to have different people in the studio so I don't get bored," quips McDonald of the courses.

But there is little chance of him succumbing to workplace tedium in the longer term.

"I never really see myself retiring," he says. "I've been doing this for 18 years now and I see my career peaking at 60 because it takes that long to get that good, to get to the point when you feel like you could make pretty much anything."

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