Saif Ali Khan digs the cowboy boots that Shyam Kale has designed for him, Aravinda de Silva tides over a minor foot imbalance only with this shoemaker's creations and Chris Gayle is in a Youtube video breaking out into an elegant moonwalk in a special
Adidas ZX Flux Femme gold coloured pair made for him by the master craftsman.
A fourth generation shoemaker, 49-year-old Kale has waltzed his way into the hearts of celebrities ranging from film
Adidas NMD Damen stars, industrialists, cricketers and members of the racing fraternity. He tells you of the shoes he's made for Hrithik Roshan, Cyrus Mistry, Jackie Shroff and the Kapoor family, and he's certainly not a name-dropping fanboy.
Ask about his brand logo — a three-pronged cobbler's anvil cusped within a horseshoe — and Kale speaks
Nike Air Max 95 Femme passionately about his 27-year association with jockeys, trainers and horse owners. Introduced to racing clients by steel industrialist Iqbal Nathani, he has made riding (for workouts) and racing boots for top jockeys like Michael Kinane, Kieren Fallon, Jimmy Fortune, Pesi Shroff and Vasant Shinde.
Kale credits the foreign jockeys like Kinane with helping him achieve perfection in shoemaking. "They knew exactly the kind of boots they wanted and would sit with me in my workshop, guiding me every step of the way,"
Nike Air Pegasus 83 Femme he says. "In fact, foreigners have taught me precision while making good shoes, be they party wear, office wear, casuals or moccasins. I have learnt a lot from them about styling and the use of the right material."
What separates Kale from the mass production shoemakers is that his creations are almost entirely handcrafted. His tryst
Nike Roshe Run Femme with leather began at the family-owned shop, Prabhat Footwear, in the Matheran market, which his late brother, Vishnu, had started with five or six workers. Kale would head to the shop straight after school to learn the trade.
The process, he painstakingly explains, involves selecting the foot mould, sketching on it, cutting and stitching the leather uppers, fixing buffalo skin soles, fitting a final leather base and polishing—which usually was a one-man job at the Matheran shop. Today, with 30 employees
Nike Roshe Run Femme at his Katraj workshop, he can afford to pay far greater attention to detail. One pair of shoes now passes through the hands of around 20 workers and takes 10 days to make.
Most of the leather Kale uses is available in India but he buys it from abroad after it goes through the pigmentation process there. He loves to dabble with leather
Nike Air Huarache Womens and uses almost 30 types such as calf, sheep, goat and printed. "Leather is breathable; it does not attract fungus. I make leather shoes for diabetic feet too," he says, while
Adidas Superstar Femme Bleu seeking to debunk general advise that such patients wear shoes made of synthetic material.
While Saif bought his cowboy boots for Rs 20,000, Kale says he has sold shoes even up to Rs 80,000 a pair. But lest one gets the impression that his products are only for those with deep pockets, he shows you his retail store which stocks
Adidas Superstar Mens shoes ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 8,000 and says 35% of his clientele is the aam aadmi.
