swati's labour of love!!

You have seen taj mahal in full moon, but ever wondered how it looks when it rains? asks Swati. It’s much more romantic more pure and full of life! It seems as if every tree every flower in its vicinity is so happy that they are dancing to their ‘full colours’! The white beauty is more visible, the carvings more clear. The love is born again. Any couple who visits this monument during such a moment will vouch for it! This is the inspiration for Swati’s rainfall at the Taj creation.

This long boot is a display of that love. The garden hand embroidered on white textile accompanied with brocade on top line, heel covered with brocade, and sole of white colour depicting Taj, a perfect combination of love and beauty.

Theme-based shoe designing is a true labour of love. It starts with the seed of an idea…the generation of idea or theme, sketching and studying of history and craftsmanship involved in the building of the Taj mahal. Then, making of model of shoe, final sketches of shoes selecting material embroidery, cutting of patterns (paper) cutting upper material. And of course embroidery of uppers, selecting heel and sole, stitching upper and lining, lasting operation ie fitting upper to last. Then attaching sole and heel finishing and lastly packing the creation.

According to Swati, making a custom made shoe is truly a work of art because

more than 100 operations go into the construction of a custom made shoe. The first and most important step is in the creation of the shoe last, a hand-carved wood or moulded plastic replica of the human foot. It alone determines the contour of the arch and how evenly the wearer's weight will be distributed throughout the foot, both of which are critical in establishing the comfort of a shoe.

A different last is needed for each shoe style, whether it's a handmade shoe or mass produced. Last making is an art that demands great skill and a trained eye for fashion.

After recording over 35 measurements from a "footprint" that shows the distribution of body weight, the artisan judges the symmetry of the toes, calibrates the height of the big toe and the contour of the instep. He also estimates how the foot will move inside the handmade shoe or boot.

The lastmaker challenge is to address all these ratios without compromising the architectural beauty of the handmade shoe design. For a heeled shoe/boot, he visualizes the heel height, then proportionately determines the size of the throat (top line of the shoe). Next the appropriate height of the shoe's quarter (height of heel back) is established: too high and it will rub the tendons; too low and the show will fail to grip the foot properly. Most critical to the fit of the shoe is the measurement of the shank curve (arch support), the area that includes the ball and instep of the foot, because this is where the body's weight fall when the foot is in motion.

Then, using the last as a guide, the patternmaker cuts out the shoe's upper and lining, bevels the edges to ensure a good fit and sews the pieces together. Next, he constructs the toe box, adds the counter- the stiffner for the shoe's back- and soaks the leather so it will easily conform to the lines of the last. A master craftsman carefully positions the upper on the last, tautly stretching it before nailing it tightly in place. The sole and heel can be attached.

In the final steps, finishers trim the welt, pair the heel, burnish the sole and add the insole lining. Last but not least, the shoe is polished and buffed - and it’s ready to wear.

Swati’s labour of love is now ready for you to wear!