Classic English footwear at Red by Wolves

Us girlies can’t deny we love our shoes, but sometimes we just want a classic style that we can wear season after season. At Red by Wolves you are guaranteed to find a classic shoe. 

Lena and Gerard is the pair behind Red by Wolves. Lena graduated from Istituto Marangoni and studied at Cordwainers, as well as studying under various bespoke shoe makers. She also worked in the shoe design departments of Jonathan Kelsey and Alexander McQueen. Gerard handles the business side of the brand. He graduated with a first-class master’s degree in design from Central Saint Martins. 

The label itself fuses contemporary styling with traditional shoe-making techniques. All their shoes are hand-crafted in a process which includes just over 100 different stages. The shoes were originally custom-made to order, but as demand grew, production was moved to a third generation, family-run workshop where the shoes are still beautifully handmade. 

The heart of the collection is the Classic range, consisting of distinctive unisex styles. The Original Yvan boot is the perfect example of this. It’s a classic style that keeps reappearing season after season. Calf leather, soft suede and goat skin lining are key in the form of toe cap lace-ups, heeled ankle boots and timeless brogues. The Marika Tan shoes, which are also available in black, are a great investment piece. Brogues can be worn all year round and year after year. Red by Wolves use distinctive chrome buckles throughout their collections.

The second part of their collection is inspired by current trends and shapes that are then adapted to fit the label’s ethos. In the current collection, it is the suede loafers that come in a range of bold prints, colours and leopard print wedges. These Pippa Loafer Dalmatians are cute and the laces are the colour for AW12: berry.

If the shoes are classic, what is the inspiration behind them? The pair stated: “It’s all about solidity of the city. With this in mind we decided to ‘engineer’ the shoes rather than simply make them. We have contrasted the idea of urban life with natural sources, using architecture, construction, natural colours and animal prints as key influences. Leopard prints are fused with soft, almost velvet-like chocolate suede, while sandy and sea blue traditional suedes provided a sense of nature.” Leopard print is clearly evident on the loafers and the natural palette makes the shoes seriously transeasonal. 

When you design the collection, can you really have a favourite? Lena has managed to pick one and selected the Pippa loafer. These are the stand-out styles in the current collection, but which colour would you choose?

Grab your perfect classic shoe from the Red by Wolves website. Will you opt for a classic brogue or a bold loafer? The choice is yours!

Jenny Rodgers