In many ways, George cleverley is the archetype of the English shoemaker. Her shop in London’s Royal Arcade, a stone’s throw from Savile Row, is known for the kind of elegant chiseled-toe styles that are the shoe-like equivalent of an Anderson & Sheppard suit. The brand offers ready-to-wear but its bread and butter has historically been tailor-made, with a client list ranging from Winston Churchill to Bryan Ferry. You’d think the past 12 months would have been a devastating blow for a supplier of toe-toe oxfords and full-fit dress shoes, but Cleverley is experiencing some kind of boom.
“Despite a lot of negativity, 2020 has been a banner year for us – and we’ve been closed for five months,” said George Glasgow Jr., CEO and Creative Director of Cleverley, who runs the business with his father, George Glasgow. Sr. the rest of us were zooming in and watching the frenzy, the Glasgows got to work. There has been a series of high powered celebrity orders, a new rugged ready-to-wear collection, and more recently the acquisition of an additional workshop that will dramatically increase the brand’s production power.
George Glasgow Jr. and Sr. in their recently acquired studio.
George cleverley
According to market research firm NPD, sales of dress shoes fell 50 percent last year, sneakers and slippers were the only relative positives in a generally dismal market. So Cleverley really hasn’t seen a drop in demand? “In fact, quite the opposite,” George Jr. tells us, noting that the brand had a record number of new bespoke customers. “We have 66 in-house shoemakers and none of them have been made redundant. “
That in itself would be impressive, but Cleverley has actually managed to increase his roster. The new workshop – a traditional shoe factory outside London that had been put into liquidation following the pandemic lockdowns – is the largest ever created by the brand. It is equipped with over 90 antique shoe-making machines, some dating back to the 1920s, offering a unique ability to increase production while maintaining the craftsmanship for which Cleverley is known.
“Although they are machines, they are operated by hand. Nothing is automated, ”says George Jr.“ We are very happy that these English-made machines can stay in England. Very few people know how to make them work other than these guys who have been doing it for 30, 40 years.
George cleverley
One of the workshop’s first tasks is to create Cleverley’s new line of casual footwear, which centers on soft, unstructured materials like kudu suede and buckskin, a notable break from British formality. which is the brand’s signature. The collection grew out of conversations with Mr Porter: Cleverley produced shoes for the e-merchant’s Kingsman brand and noticed that, unsurprisingly, casual styles sell the best. In early March last year, even before the pandemic disrupted dress codes, Mr Porter encouraged Cleverley to expand his casual offering.
“It started at three or four [designs] but, during the pandemic, I said ‘Listen guys, we have to go further’ ”, remembers George Jr. The collection has been enriched with 17 new styles, which already have started to sink on Mr. Porter and will continue to be deployed in April and May.
A boot in the making and, on the right, one of the brand’s new casual creations, ankle boots in grained leather ($ 825).
George Cleverley, Mr. Porter
Most of the casual loafers and chukka boots were designed from models commissioned by the Hollywood heavyweight Cleverley cache. The brand has shod Daniel Day-Lewis and Chris Pine, both on-screen and off. “I always say Batman and Superman both wear George Cleverley,” George Jr literally notes: Henry Cavill and Robert Pattinson both called on Cleverley for their superhero tricks.
Around the same time that George Jr. was in talks with Mr. Porter, his friend Jason Statham approached him to design custom shoes for an upcoming role in Guy Ritchie’s. five eyes. The brief? Versatile styles that are just as easy to wear with suits as they do with chinos.
“He and I worked together, personally, without the costume designer,” George Jr. said of his collaboration with Statham. “He takes a hands-on approach: he was in the workshops, sitting with the makers and saying, ‘Let me see that skin.’ What does it look like with this costume? Let’s try a lighter shade. He was in the store every few days for weeks.
Statham’s designs have proven to be ideal for WFH wardrobes and the prevailing casual dress code, so they made their debut in Mr Porter’s collection this spring. Another star of the new collection, a grained suede developed exclusively for Cleverley, debuted in a pair of loafers created for Dwayne Johnson to wear to the 2019 premiere of Hobbs & Shaw.
Cleverley’s love affair with Hollywood dates back decades, beginning with big-screen stars like Gary Cooper and Humphrey Bogart. In recent years, the relationship has been strengthened by the fact that George Jr. divides his time between London and Beverly Hills. Thanks to his American wife, the young Glasgow enjoys dual citizenship, a particularly valuable asset during the travel restrictions of the pandemic.
“We were the only shoemaker in Europe who could travel to the United States, do our parades and serve our customers,” he says. Despite a decrease in dressing opportunities, George Jr. says interest in Cleverley’s bespoke shoes, which start at around $ 5,000, has grown over the past year. He attributes this to the brand’s unique ability to reach US customers and, in general, Cleverley’s long-term investment value.
“We’re not looking to offer a seasonal product,” he says. “We love to create things that are timeless. “
But that doesn’t mean Cleverley served staid classics. George Jr. observed that men are more adventurous in their choices now that they are no longer beholden to office decorum five days a week. “Ninety-five percent of the orders taken in 2020 were not black,” he says, calling a pair of purple suede chukka boots a particularly successful experience. “While it might sound a little odd, it’s totally unique and it’s not your regular shoe. It’s something people will know was made for you.
That carefree mood runs throughout Cleverley’s new ready-to-wear line, but if you want to get creative, George Jr. begins his journey from coast to coast. american tour April 7. Who knows ? Your big idea might end up residing next door to Statham in the George Cleverley Footwear Legends League.