Simone Cecchetto’s approach to shoemaking is a permanent ongoing research.

The designer behind the brand A1923 does not chase an ideal form of perfection. He rather tries to fully master a complex craft deeply rooted in the Italian artisanal heritage. Cecchetto finds his biggest source of inspiration in art and photography. This season he collaborated with the young Italian artist Gianni Politi, who made a special installation using a huge canvas roll spread with  pigments of pure colors. The piece has been realized specifically for A1923 and it has been showcased during Paris Men’s Fashion Week at the brand’s temporary showroom.

Like wearable artworks, Simone Cecchetto’s creations are the outcome of an uncompromising workmanship. In order to have the complete control over his works, he closely follows the production process step by step, from choosing the primal materials to tanning and dying the leathers. For the Fall – Winter 2015/2016 season, he worked with shark leather and genuine shell cordovan. As for the hand-sewn shoe’s construction, every single part of the item is entirely handcrafted to achieve the highest standards of comfort and durability. After selecting the leather, Cecchetto studies the possible shapes and develops the patterns, which are inspired by both his own creative ideas and by how the raw material reacts to the molding process. This incredibly intense and time-consuming practice is what makes A1923 goods truly unique. Furthermore, the tactile properties of the leathers and their outstanding shades of colors set A1923 designs apart from the kind of niche products that share a similar ethos. Since shoemaking is a too restrictive field for Cecchetto’s creative mind, he is slowly expanding into making clothes, imbuing his garments with the same sense of care and attention to details he put in his footwear.

Throughout this never-ending experimental process, the designer will eventually overcome his limits and define his own-self attempt after attempt.