OK I’ll say it, being a Northern myself, Sheffield isn’t the first place you think of when you hear the words Luxury, Handmade Mens footwear brand, quality, strength, grit, all yes, words that you associate with Sheffield, Luxury Fashion, no. Well, my dear readers, I am about to change your minds.
The Sheffield-based footwear company, GORAL have been making footwear for over 80 years ago. The last pair of hands which touches the footwear before the customer, is the craftsmen who made the footwear. Aside from being handcrafted, each item is quality checked by the GORAL craftsmen.
It introduces the Blake Stitch for use in trainers. GORAL’s craftsmen have developed a unique process to enable quicker re-soling on trainers. The Blake Stitch stitches the upper directly to the leather lasting board, and then sidewall stitching the sole to the upper. This drastically reduces the need for glue while still offering a strong water-resistant seal.
GORAL launches its Hybrid Trainer Collection. This new collection, has for the first time, a unique method created by the craftsmen at GORAL to attach the sole to the trainer upper making a full resole possible. Never before has a trainer been created which enables a full resole.
Using a palette of retro colours GORAL’s craftsmen have deconstructed several classic shoes to create the GORAL Hybrid Trainers collection. Renowned for comfort, GORAL trainers have padding, unlined leather upper and insoles/leather lasting board making the footwear comfortable with no need for breaking in.
Dominik Goral, Commercial Director at GORAL said; “Since my Great Great Grandfather made the first pair of GORAL shoes over 80 years ago, we have become recognised as an industry leader for the craftmanship which goes into our footwear. Our craftsmen have developed a unique process to enable GORAL trainers to be re-soled. This is a huge game changer for the footwear industry.
“The clothing and footwear industry is constantly looking for new ways that it can be more sustainable. By having a method which will enable trainers to have the entire sole replaced means that GORAL is leading the way to reduce the number of trainers which end up in landfill every year.
“Waste isn’t the only issue the industry faces. Pollution is also caused by products travelling halfway around the world before reaching the customer. At GORAL we source all our materials and packaging as locally as possible. We also offset our carbon emissions from deliveries to customers.”
