Berluti lays vast creative possibilities literally at your feet with its bespoke service. Speaking with its master shoemaker Jean-Michel Casalonga leaves Grace Tay wishing for a pair herself.

Berluti and its bespoke shoes—the very essence of the brand, which started in 1895 making shoes for the rich—are no secret to the sartorially-informed. But while its beautifully patinated leather dress shoes are a frequent feature in “Best of Bespoke” lists, the classic shoe is just the starting point for its made-to-measure service. 

Yes, you can get the Andy in seven different colours, and all in different exotic leathers. Yes, you can bring your father’s old silk jacket and have it incorporated into the vamp. Yes, you can get more room at the toe and heel; in fact, the shoe is literally moulded for your feet for comfort. Sandals? Boat shoes? Boots? Yes, Berluti can make those for you too. 

In short, your bespoke shoe order is limited only by your imagination… and budget.

In Singapore where the made-to-measure service has been offered for about one-and-a-half years, Jean-Michel Casalonga—one of the brand’s three travelling bottiers, and the maison’s youngest master shoemaker being just in his mid-thirties—is the maker of dreams. He started as an unpaid intern in the Berluti workshops 12 years ago, and now travels the world to meet clients for bespoke shoe orders. This involves getting down on his knees and taking tracings and measurements of a customer’s stockinged feet—a rather intimate process indeed. He also notes things like bunions and other sensitive areas, the weight-bearing spots of the foot and such. 

They bounce off ideas about the design and materials, and he returns to Paris to carve out a last from a block of hornbeam wood—a unique foot form based each customer’s feet measurements. Three months later, he’s back with a leather prototype to check for fit; he’d amend the last as necessary, pasting on leather strips to add more volume, or carving away slivers of wood. “I also bring leather swatches and drawings, and we confirm all the technical points and details because we go to the final pair after this,” he says.

“The shoes arrive three to six months after,” Casalonga continues. That’s nine months to a year after the first meeting. One imagines an opening ceremony—or perhaps a baby shower—is in order. “It comes in a beautiful wooden box wrapped with leather that has the same patina as the shoe. It’s shipped over but I want to be there when the customer tries it on.”

The request for a bespoke pair has to be initiated by the customer. “It’s not just ordering a pair of shoes; the customer needs to enjoy the experience. I tell our sales staff not to push bespoke. It has to come from the customer, because after placing the order, he will have six to nine months to regret it!” Casalonga half jests.

He has 10 to 15 customer appointments lined up each time he’s here, which is four times a year, or every three months. Worldwide, he says, Berluti handles a few hundred orders for bespoke shoes a year. They are all made in Paris by hand at the atelier in Rue Marbeuf. 

Bringing out his iPad, he scrolls through his own photos of orders he’s fulfilled; the creative configurations and permutations are mind-boggling. It’s interesting to note, too, is that these shoes are for men in Asia—that’s Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Korea—regions where men’s fashion sensibilities hadn’t bloomed till recent years, and the US, which are the markets he covers. 

Having admired the shoes in the Berluti store a few times, I unleashed my curiosity on Casalonga during his last visit to Singapore. 


To really get creative, you need really good communication and understanding of your customer. How well do you know them?  
When I meet a customer, I don’t want to pry into personal matters, and I have customers I’ve done several bespoke pairs for over the years but don’t even know what they work as. We always say that we work with four hands: my two hands, and the customer’s, because we need the customer to share his ideas, expectations and preferences to make him the perfect pair of shoes. What I do need to know is if you’re wearing the shoe here or overseas, are these for casual or dressy events?

Can a customer come to a design decision by his first appointment?
The first meeting, especially for a first-time customer, I ask for an hour so I can take his feet measurements and ensure that we can discuss all the possibilities: thickness of the sole; height of heel; curve of the arch if you want good support; how cushiony; does he prefer to have a tight or roomier fit. We also talk about the aesthetics: colour of the lining; any embroidery, tattooing, hot stamping or nailing. I don’t give all the options at first because the customer can get overwhelmed. But if I feel that the customer knows what he wants, I add more and more options; if he doesn’t know what to do, we can prepare some drawings or test some new constructions. If a new customer tells me, “Do what you want,” it’s actually a nightmare for me because I don’t yet know his tastes and sensibilities. 

What was the most interesting order you’ve had?
It was a guy who wanted to travel the world in a year with a single pair of shoes. Now, that’s a concern for us, because if you want your Berluti leather shoes to last forever, you need to respect the drying time—we recommend one to two days with a shoetree after each wear. But this customer was going into rivers, walking on sand, climbing mountains, hiking into the forest… It was a good challenge! We took inspiration from a pair of ski boots made by Mr Berluti for actor Rudolf Valentino in the 1930s, and used waxed leather, which is very durable and waterproof, to make him a pair of boots. 

Can a bespoke version of anything a customer sees on the boutique shelves be done?
We do classic shoes, dress, casual shoes, hunting boots, etc. And not just in leather. If the customer wishes, he can have velvet, cotton, linen, denim—with leather lining of course. We made a pair of velvet slippers for one of my customers and he really loved the feel, so he asked us to use the same material but on a new pattern, so I suggested a Derby for him. The possibilities are endless, but I’d say there’s an aesthetical limit—we won’t make shoes that lose the Berluti codes. 

How about sneakers?  
Doing sneakers is very, very new for us and quite interesting. It’s customisation, rather than bespoke, as we are limited by the moulded soles. But we can adjust the volume for customers who might find our ready-to-wear sneakers too tight, and we can change the uppers if they want exotic leathers or special detailing. 

Does the pricing vary according to the complexity of the design? 
No. For first orders when a last is made, prices start at $10,500 for a basic shoe and that covers all the construction requests and finishing a customer wants, although tattoo and nailing costs more. Exotic leather or boots will be more expensive. Repeat orders based on the same last will start from $8,900. 

Do you do bespoke shoes for women? 
Yes, but only if it’s a men’s shoe.