At Robert Clergerie moroccan sneakers rule, ok?

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Jan 21, 2018

The shoe of the season was not on any runway in Western Europe this month, but could rather be found sitting on a stand on rue St Honoré. Its author: David Tourniaire-Beauciel, creative director of Robert Clergerie.
 

His best invention: a masterly new sneaker with articulated robber soles and uppers in raffia, all hand-made by lady artisans in Morocco.
 
Made for men and women in either a low cut version or in a funkier high top. They are very much collector’s items - priced respectively at 375 euros and 525 euros. Moreover, they seemed very much in keeping with the practical but cool spirit of the brand’s founder, Robert Clergerie. Before becoming a shoemaker extraordinaire Robert was a French paratrooper.

Since his appointment last spring as CEO, Perry Oosting has re-centered Clergerie around its unique selling points of skilled artisanal production; directional yet realistic styles.
 
Tourniere-Beaucieul also revealed classic penny loafers with the flexible soles; some fine studded brogues and revamped last season’s standout footwear – a silver and anthracite woven-sided sneaker that had a heroic feeling.
 
“Everything flexible but stylish too,” commented Tourniaire-Beauciel, who grew up in Romains, the hometown of the brand.
 
Owned by the wealthy Hong Kong-based Fung family, the brand after a few years of stasis is now very much on the move – with quirky yet efficient ideas. Something the Fungs, and the founder, should appreciate.