Lasts are made in the shoemaking process
to replace the foot. So they act as a model of the foot, for the leather to be taut and pulled over
and for the nails to be lasted into the wood or the plastic form of the last.
A lot of people think every shoe is made on the same last
but that's completely not the case, the last dictates the whole process of the
style of the shoe. The more elegant the last the more elegant the shoe.
So it's a mirror effect really from the form of the last, to the end product.
We have more casual lasts at Tricker's and we have smarter lasts,
some with maybe an almond toe shape, some with a soft chisel some with a loafer and
the style of the last really dictates the whole occasion that you wear the shoe for.
Our lasts come in all sizes up to size 13 and they come in different widths.
We have a standard width and up to two widths wider than a standard fitting.
Tricker's have their lasts produced by Springline and Springline are the only
remaining last maker in the UK they're actually also based in Northamptonshire
about three miles away from our factory on St.Michael's Road.
I think having a bespoke last vs off the shelf feels very different.
A lot of customers at Tricker's who have bought off the shelf throughout their life
quite often get to a certain point, maybe slightly older age where they think they deserve to
invest in bespoke shoes and they may have a pair of shoes that fits them perfectly
off the shelf from Tricker's but they want that shoe replicating in a bespoke form.
I'm actually working alongside a customer at the moment who
is requiring just that and I think they just like the thought of something being really special,
handmade start to finish, the threads being made, every single stitch is being done by hand.
In the bespoke process, we meet a customer and we measure their feet,
every pair of shoes is made to measure so the last is even more important that
the measurements have to fix to that exact customer's foot. We take those measurements
along with a mould, to Springline and once the initial turn of the last has been made we do a
mockup shoe for the customer. We go and meet the customer, usually in our Jermyn Street store or
here in Northampton and if any alterations are needed then they go back to Springline
who then alter the last and we do that until we get the perfect fit for the customer.
As a maker and with bespoke shoes you can certainly highlight areas of the last and
exaggerate maybe toes or exaggerate the waist in or out, with a bespoke last the
limitations are endless really so it's a matter of after a fitting with the customer
they may say"I'd like the toe to be a little bit more defined." so we can do back and I can do
that by using leather stiffeners or it can go to the last maker and they can make that last
a little bit more elongated in the toe and it can achieve the look the customer is after.
We can manipulate different shapes and achieve different outcomes
so I think it's down to what the customer wants, if they want something bespoke to look exactly
as it would off the shelf then we can achieve it, if they want something bespoke that has
elements of something we offer off the shelf but with tweaks then again it's something we can do.
Quite often a customer that's bought a stock shoe off the shelf from a company such as Tricker's
don't always understand that there's not actually that many limitations within bespoke, you can
open it up into a lot of different areas.