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The shoes created by Javier Gasco reveal what can be achieved when a designer doesn’t have to worry about commerciality – no need to identify a target market, create a balanced and cohesive collection, or determine cost assessments. Mr Gasco doesn’t design regular collections for sale; these shoes are made for his pleasure or for a rare commission. They are the product of an unbridled imagination and a masterful ability to design and make footwear.



Javier Gasco is a shoemaker and a professor of shoemaking at the European Institute of Design in his native Madrid. His experience started in childhood, when he helped his father in the family business making cowboy boots. He later studied traditional Spanish shoemaking and rounded off his knowledge by studying footwear design in Madrid and the ARS in Milan. There must be very little that Javier Gasco doesn’t know about creating footwear.



One of the most striking things about these shoes is the innovative detailing, often involving unexpected combinations of materials and the use of exotic leather. The booties below are made of python and brass chain mail. The platform is covered in water snake, and coils of brass wire create the heel contouring.



Oiled calfskin was hand embroidered and used to make these oxfords…



These booties are made of kangaroo leather, decorated with rhinestone studs and buttons; the removable tongue allows for two different looks.



Even the humble flip-flop is transformed into something special with the use of luxurious materials. In this case, calfskin with crocodile trim…



And this is one of my favorites: a pair of mary janes in natural goatskin, the platform and heel are covered in chocolate lizard, and a line of brass studs at the heel is carried around the shoe by gold piping. A beautifully refined design.



Mr Gasco makes all of his shoes by hand, and the craftsmanship is a master class from start to finish. He often turns pattern-cutting into a mind game, seeing how complicated he can make the design and still use just a single seamless piece of leather. Most footwear is made from several pieces that are sewn together (take a look at a few of your own shoes to see how many seams they have). This is easier, more convenient, and a lot cheaper than the one piece method because it allows for more efficient cutting of the leather. If you’ve ever had to cut out a dress pattern you will have a greater appreciation of this. Making a complicated shoe out of a single seamless piece of leather is like making a pair of pants out of a single seamless piece of fabric – not impossible, but incredibly difficult.



The gold part of the shoe above (excepting the wedge inserted to form the heel) was made from a single piece of leather – you can see there is no seam between the upper and the platform’s sole. I’ve studied both pattern cutting and shoemaking, but the thought of attempting that fills me with fear.

In the shoes below, a single un-seamed piece of leather is used to create the upper as well as cover the heel. Mr Gasco carved the heel by hand to give the impression that the shoe is tipping backwards – it’s an illusion, the shoe is completely stable.

The beauty and craftsmanship of these shoes alone would make them special, but some of them also have a narrative that takes them to a place that is close to art. Here are a few of those stories:

This pair of d’Orsays was made from the skin of a boa constrictor. The skin was untanned and had been used as a decorative wall hanging for a long time. It was old and dry and had to be extensively treated and softened before it could be used to make the shoes. The d’Orsay design is sublimely simple and allows the pattern of the skin to be the star…

A pair of burlap and raffia hand-sewn sandals, inspired by a trip to Africa and decorated with beads brought back from that trip…






Gold lizard mules with pink goatskin lining and ring detail; they were made without a pattern, so each one is slightly different…



A hand embroidered slingback inspired by an unforgettable moment that Mr Gasco had during a trip to Tokyo…



Javier Gasco’s designs remind us of how special the craft of shoemaking can be, and of the potential for a pair of shoes to last a lifetime – in terms of both structure and design. In our consumer culture of disposability and fleeting trends, shoes are often cheaply made and have a life-expectancy of only a season or two; then they fall apart and we throw them away. I know most designers – independent or otherwise – don’t have the luxury of designing anything they want, but it is exciting to see where footwear design can go when there are no restrictions on creativity.

All images are from Javier Gasco’s website.

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