High Heels
The line with the longest development and the shortest tolerance. A heel is the one style where a pattern that is a few millimetres out is invisible on the table and obvious the moment the pair is stood up, so almost all the work happens before bulk starts.
Styles already built on this line.
Sample pairs from the development bench. Send the one closest to yours and it can be priced.
A sculpted heel is a component with its own tooling, so it is agreed before anything else on the style. A mule holds the foot on one strap, which puts the whole fit on where that strap sits.
| Upper, as photographed | Pointed-toe mule, single strap across the instep |
|---|---|
| Sole, as photographed | Curved sculpted heel, moulded |
| Material | Hide grade and finish agreed at quotation |
| Construction | Confirmed at sampling |
| Size run | Graded from the approved sample |
| Colourways | To your specification |
| Terms | FOB, ex Bình Dương |
The plainest style on the line and the least forgiving: with no strap and no trim, the last and the throat line are the entire shoe. Balance is settled on a physical sample, never on a drawing.
| Upper, as photographed | Pointed-toe court pump, closed throat, plain vamp |
|---|---|
| Sole, as photographed | Slim mid-height covered heel |
| Material | Hide grade and finish agreed at quotation |
| Construction | Confirmed at sampling |
| Size run | Graded from the approved sample |
| Colourways | To your specification |
| Terms | FOB, ex Bình Dương |
The knotted band is hand-assembled, so it adds labour rather than material to the quotation. A low heel still needs the same balance work as a high one.
| Upper, as photographed | Square-toe mule, knotted multi-strand band across the vamp |
|---|---|
| Sole, as photographed | Kitten heel, covered |
| Material | Hide grade and finish agreed at quotation |
| Construction | Confirmed at sampling |
| Size run | Graded from the approved sample |
| Colourways | To your specification |
| Terms | FOB, ex Bình Dương |
A wrapped wedge is a finishing operation as much as a component — the wrap has to meet cleanly at the same point on every pair. The ankle strap grades across the size run with the buckle.
| Upper, as photographed | Ankle-strap sandal, open vamp band, buckled fastening |
|---|---|
| Sole, as photographed | Jute-wrapped wedge |
| Material | Hide grade and finish agreed at quotation |
| Construction | Confirmed at sampling |
| Size run | Graded from the approved sample |
| Colourways | To your specification |
| Terms | FOB, ex Bình Dương |
A wedge carries the whole foot, so the sole unit and the last are decided together and neither can be swapped later. The buckle sits over the closure, so it has to clear it at every size.
| Upper, as photographed | Ankle boot, side buckle strap, closed shaft |
|---|---|
| Sole, as photographed | Ridged wedge unit |
| Material | Hide grade and finish agreed at quotation |
| Construction | Confirmed at sampling |
| Size run | Graded from the approved sample |
| Colourways | To your specification |
| Terms | FOB, ex Bình Dương |
The same last and the same sole unit as the camel pair above, in a second colourway. This is what a colourway costs on a heeled style: no new tooling, no new grading, only material and finishing.
| Upper, as photographed | Ankle boot, side buckle strap, closed shaft |
|---|---|
| Sole, as photographed | Ridged wedge unit |
| Material | Hide grade and finish agreed at quotation |
| Construction | Confirmed at sampling |
| Size run | Graded from the approved sample |
| Colourways | To your specification |
| Terms | FOB, ex Bình Dương |
A high block heel on a knee-high shaft has to be balanced against the weight of the shaft above it, which is the fitting this style spends its sampling time on. The ornament is bought in and quoted separately.
| Upper, as photographed | Knee-high shaft, metal ornament at the ankle, closed throat |
|---|---|
| Sole, as photographed | High stacked block heel |
| Material | Hide grade and finish agreed at quotation |
| Construction | Confirmed at sampling |
| Size run | Graded from the approved sample |
| Colourways | To your specification |
| Terms | FOB, ex Bình Dương |
A knit sock upper is closed differently from a cut-and-stitched one, so it is worth telling us early whether the knit is nominated or ours to source. The square toe is a last, not a pattern.
| Upper, as photographed | Knit sock upper, square toe, pull tab |
|---|---|
| Sole, as photographed | Flared block heel on a plain unit |
| Material | Hide grade and finish agreed at quotation |
| Construction | Confirmed at sampling |
| Size run | Graded from the approved sample |
| Colourways | To your specification |
| Terms | FOB, ex Bình Dương |
How a heeled pair
is actually built.
Five stages run on this floor. On this line two of them carry the style — the bench where the last and the heel are settled, and the one where balance is proved on a real pair.
-
Design and sampling
The last and the heel are settled together and neither can be swapped afterwards. An existing last is production; a new last is development work first.
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Cutting
Pattern pieces on a heeled style are small and the tolerances are tight, because everything on the shoe is read against the line of the last.
-
Closing and lasting
The upper is stitched, pulled over the last and the heel attached. Fit and balance are proved on a physical pair — there is no other way to settle them.
-
Finishing and inspection
Edges, covering and packing. Pairs are matched side by side and checked against the approved sample before they are boxed.
What to send
for a heeled quotation.
Four things move the price on this line, and the first of them moves the schedule more than the volume does.
-
Last, or a reference pair
An existing last is production. A new last is development work first, and it sets the schedule.
-
Heel height and shape
Together with the last it fixes pitch and balance, which is what the wearer actually judges.
-
Construction
Agreed per style at sampling. Send it early and we will say whether the equipment is here.
-
Size run and ratio
Grading on a heeled last is more work than on a flat one; it belongs in the first conversation.
Send the materials and finish too if you have them — height and finish are agreed together, because a finish that works at one height can look wrong at another. Terms are FOB, ex Bình Dương, or built to your nominated suppliers; minimums, sampling and bulk timing are quoted per programme.
Audited against- Global Recycled Standard Certification
- amfori BSCI Audit programme
- SMETA 4-Pillar Audit methodology
- SCAN Audit programme
Global Recycled Standard
amfori BSCI
SMETA 4-Pillar
SCAN
Send the last, or the pair.
Whichever you have. On this line the physical object is worth three pages of specification.