Recorded histories
The stories behind makers and their materials are powerful, as Paraboot’s latest co-creator knows only too well. Here, World Leather uncovers the many sides to a mountain boot.
Approximately 110 years after its founding in the village of Izeaux, not far from Grenoble, in 1908, made-in-France leather footwear company Paraboot approached Parisian creative label Classic with an idea for a collaboration. At first, it felt like a bit of a stretch, admits the latter’s founder, Thibault Choay, who started Classic Paris as a specialist art book publishing house back in 2010, following a period as a journalist. Later, though, after working on several co-developed products of his own, Mr Choay began thinking of the project as a brand. The partners thus debuted an exclusive take on Paraboot’s Yosemite ankle boot, limited to 80 or so pairs in all, towards the end of January. Initially shoppable in-person for a nine-day period between January 18 and 27 at Classic’s appointment-only showroom in Le Marais, the remaining stock continues to be sold online, priced at €350.
Turning pages
Mr Choay describes the response to the shoes so far as “incredible” and “very encouraging for a total first”. Regarding sales, the physical launch went very well, he tells us, and subsequent digital demand has been steady. The wider collection, built around the climber-inspired ankle boots and consciously curated as though a group show or exhibition, received interest from parties hoping to re-present it via international pop-up events within two weeks of its release, Mr Choay reveals.
Though the quantity of co-designed Yosemites manufactured in this instance was ultimately decided by how many leather uppers Paraboot’s Saint-Jean-de-Moirans factory could feasibly make, considering the minimum number of hides needed to secure production, the line-up itself is diverse, yet coherent. The footwear, unquestionably the capsule’s protagonist, is supported by a creative cast which collectively expresses Mr Choay’s personal appreciation for alpinism, vintage clothing and mountaineering gear. Not to mention Paraboot’s predecessor brand Galibier, which gave its early collections a mountain boot slant, and of course the silhouette’s rugged Californian namesake, Yosemite National Park. Choosing the Yosemite for his canvas was “pretty easy” in this respect, the publisher says.
Running alongside the chunky, rubber-soled boots is a commemorative 100% cotton t-shirt, an Ebbets Field Flannels-made woollen baseball cap, a Kinto water bottle, a pair of Les Bâtons d’Alain ultra-light trek and skiing poles, a Classic Paris-published photography book and a large-scale negative stencil piece by Alexandre Bavard, who also goes by the name of Mosa. The long-sleeve tee notably features a restyled vintage Paraboot advertisement in which Classic’s logo, redesigned to fit with the footwear company’s aesthetic, replaces Galibier’s. Either arm has likewise been branded with the logo of each additional collaborator. The creative label’s revamped script is variously emblazoned across the rest of the assortment, too, including a specially printed shoebox (more on this later) and even Mosa’s artwork. A unifying neutral palette, accented with grassy green hues, is suggestive of the overall urban-outdoors emphasis and pared-back, timeless design.
Stamp of approval
The cornerstone, however, for Mr Choay, is the Blake-stitched shoes’ dual-branded dark green tag, another strong signifier of Paraboot’s involvement. While the face fabric bears Classic’s newly cursive imprint, when turned over it displays the manufacturer’s logo as a mark of authenticity – a subtle nod to streetwear culture and its influence on Mr Choay’s life and work. He describes this detail as the capsule’s real genesis.
“Crazy trainer collaborations are common trade,” the founder and creative lead explains. His ambition for Classic’s version of the Yosemite, then, was to use only materials which highlight the boot’s design, as opposed to “outshining it with a catchy colourway or crazy details”. Crucially, Mr Choay wanted something much more understated, something quietly classic. This tied in well with the decision to use only vegetable-tanned natural leather with no other treatment, he adds, having requested hides with a raw and “untainted” quality, which would age and accumulate unique markings over time, in step with the wearer.
Paraboot also typically keeps its main line of leathers natural. With the exception of a small amount of cordovan leather sourced from North America, the still family-owned, vertical operation exclusively uses hides of European origin. Around 77% of its raw material hails from France and all heels and soles are made at Saint-Jean-de-Moirans, it states, using the same French blends and vulcanisation processes as the brand’s original boots. Generally, every pair of its shoes requires at least 150 different operations and two hours of work. Paraboot’s parent company, Richard-Pontvert, is officially recognised as an Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant in its home country, considered part of France’s ‘living heritage’ with its commitment to preserving domestic artisanal know-how over the years.
An adventurous spirit
Classic Paris similarly focuses on the artists and creative practitioners in its orbit, with Mr Choay preferring to let cultural and commercial projects evolve organically, he says. The book published in celebration of the tie-up best illustrates this. A long-time friend, Matteo Verzino, was responsible for translating the collection’s “vibe” into photographs that would most resonate with Classic’s audience, and mesh well with the broader collaboration’s aesthetic references and choice of materials. Meanwhile, the writer behind the accompanying partly fictional text, Oscar Coop-Phane, came on board following a casual conversation with Mr Choay about shoes and Paraboot in a bar. The photographs document the artists at work to produce a visual retelling of their various “backstage” stories. Importantly, no product shots feature in the final volume and neither does Mr Coop-Phane describe the boots at any stage.
Although enthusiastic in its support of the undertaking, the Paraboot team was kept away from work on the book, to ensure its integrity as a standalone, non-promotional outcome, Mr Choay tells us. Rather, the publication is meant to serve as evidence of the different actors’ creative freedom. It also allowed him to repay Paraboot for sharing its well-honed footwear manufacturing expertise through contributing his own in making and selling art books. “Books are the origin of it all,” he underlines.
Ro Studio, a screenprinter based in the Parisian suburb of Montreuil, was another core member of the book’s production crew. Mr Choay met the artist, Romain Gauthier, who makes his own inks, when Mr Gauthier was attempting to create a coloured map of the French capital using only inks he could produce himself from the natural resources found in each neighbourhood. He brought his waterless mobile printing set-up on the trip to Saint-Jean-de-Moirans, which enabled him to make botanical inks for the collection’s t-shirts and shoeboxes from plant matter gathered in the fields surrounding Paraboot’s main facility and headquarters. The Yosemites’ shoeboxes were therefore all printed on-site, surrounded by mountains, which captivated onlookers “in the same way we were captivated by the shoemakers’ crafts”, Classic’s founder reflects.
Less an exercise in eco-friendliness than a holistically minded knowledge exchange experiment, this snapshot of just some of the energies and activities that helped shape the capsule’s limited editions goes a long way. Not only in signalling appreciation for the not insignificant role the natural landscape plays in all things Made in France, but also in demonstrating Mr Choay’s clear understanding of the sheer, multi-layered effort that goes into crafting footwear “with the best and most respectful materials possible”.
Use of natural leather, supplied by a Paraboot tannery partner, gives each shoe a unique character which will only grow with age and wear.
All credits: Classic Paris
