Gabriele Gmeiner

The shoe sculptor

• Gabriele makes no more than 100 pairs of shoes a year
• She only uses naturally tanned leather from Europe
• Foot measurements are taken both sitting and standing

Austrian-born Gabriele Gmeiner left her hometown at 19 to follow her dream of becoming a shoemaker. First she graduated at the Cordwainers College in London and then specialised in Paris at the CFT de L’Abbee Gregoire. Her perambulations led her to Venice, where she decided to settle down and open her own workshop. “I was attracted by art,” she explains, “and I wanted to create sculptures. But I preferred to work in the applied arts, so I chose shoemaking. Much more important than any accessory or garment, shoes are the foundation of the modern migrant man. They affect not only our basic wellbeing, but also the movement and posture of our body. Even today, I feel like an artist when I carve my custom made wooden lasts.”

Interview

©Oliver Haas

©Alessandro Zannoni

When did you open your workshop?

In 2002. But my very first bespoke shoe job dates back to 1993, when I was commissioned to make a pair of shoes for a very precious porcelain doll. Since 2004, I have always trained apprentices from countries such as Japan, France, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

What are your specialisations?

Made-to-measure shoes for men and women, the latter being rather rare in the sector of bespoke shoes. The techniques I use date back to the era of entirely handmade footwear: I do not use machinery or synthetic glues in the creation of my shoes.

How do you innovate this traditional craft?

The innovation lies in the aspect of sustainability. All my materials are traceable and European, no chemicals or toxic products are used, the production is done entirely in the workshop, there is no waste of materials, and the product itself is the opposite of “disposable”.

What don’t people normally know about this profession?

That it takes countless hours to make a pair of bespoke handmade shoes. Each sculpted last, each stitch, each hour worked is dedicated to that particular person. An intense, almost intimate relationship arises between the craftsperson and his or her client.

Gabriele Gmeiner is a master artisan: she began her career in 1991 and she started teaching in 1996

Works

©Gabriele Gmeiner

©Bevilacqua

©All rights reserved

©Gabriele Gmeiner

©All rights reserved

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