Antonio Pio Mele is a young Milanese shoemaker with an interesting background. His family owned a shoemaking factory in the south of Italy, but rather than go into the family business when he grew up (as his brother did), Antonio decided to train as a bespoke maker. This gives him a different perspective to most shoemakers and leads to interesting outlets – such as making trainers for some of his clients in his brother’s factory, on bespoke lasts.
Antonio is also one of the last shoemakers in Milan. With Messina and Gatto gone, there are almost none left. Nicoletta Caraceni was particularly interested in Antonio’s work when I mentioned it, as she would normally recommend clients to Messina.
Although he is still just starting out compared to some of these old names, Antonio has trained with several other makers – seven by his count, including D’Agata, Di Martino and Bentivegna. His ambitions are also pretty broad: he already makes bespoke men’s and women’s shoes, has a good line in leather goods with a few makers around Milan, and is aiming to open a shop or shared space in London (his business partner is already here, in Oxford).
I visited him in Milan last month after a couple of meetings in London, at his atelier off Piazza Duomo. The place has some lovely touches – like the initials above the buzzer (below) and crocodile-leather door handle. There was also an impressive display of shoes, though with a heavy leaning towards exotics. “I think of myself as a pizzeria,” he says. “The customer should not see a menu – he should be able to pick anything he wants, in any combination.”
Of course, this is all very well if you can maintain the quality across all those items. The leather items are good, though better on the aesthetics than the construction. I can’t speak to the shoes, but we’re having a pair made so I’ll report back on those later. We had an initial fitting using waste material while in Milan, and it was rather loose, particularly around the heel. Then again, this was with the expectation of a second fitting in London, so that will be more telling.
Given my fascination with the crossover between formal and casual wear, I was particularly interested in the bespoke trainers, though Antonio pointed out quite rightly that there is not that much difference in the fit. The sole is flat, there is already a good amount of heel support, and the construction overall is so soft that having a better-fitting heel cup (for example) is not that noticeable. The same goes for driving shoes made on a bespoke last – they stretch so much that there isn’t that much point.
Interestingly, I am separately having a pair of summer loafers made by Stefano Bemer on my last there. Given that such shoes are often cemented or Blake-stitched for lightness, you cut out a lot of the hand-sewing and therefore a lot of the cost. A bespoke fit for around €1000.
Both Antonio and Bemer have events coming up later in the year in London. Keep an eye out here.
