Best feet forward

If a suit can be custom-made with the wearer choosing the fabric, cut and even buttons, why not shoes – an equally important part of our attire? This question posed by friends four years ago gave Soham Rastogi an idea and Harperwoods was born.

Though there are several Indian shoe brands such as Achilles' Heel (men's bespoke footwear brand), Chalk Studio (shoes for women), Cuero (leather sandal brand for men and women) customise shoes, what's going to set Harperwoods apart is their software that can allow people to design their own shoe, promising to take bespoke experience several notches higher.

Their money, his mind

"To raise money, we ran a campaign on Kickstarter, a global crowdfunding platform focused on supporting creativity,"says the Delhi-based software engineer and footwear technologist, whose determination to do something different has taken shape of a futuristic software.

Held from November 2016 to January 2017 "the campaign allowed people from all over the world to order a pair of shoes, give our idea a try by designing their shoes on a virtual design studio," says Rastogi, whose family is well acquainted with the footwear trade. The 'self-styled' shoe was home-delivered.

Receiving an overwhelming response, it generated about Rs 20 lakh. Rastogi's whose further upgrading the software and will launch the service online by April 2017; order deliveries he promises will be in in three weeks.

Variety and win-win vision

So you can get a slip-on, an Oxford or a Derby and choose from – fine bovine leather, leather-mimicking material, cotton or woollen textiles. The shoes will be priced $150 (Rs 10,000) and upwards. "The materials sourced from Europe and other parts of India is what makes them expensive. It can be customised to a great extent – you can also add or delete patterns, add a logo or design and choose the optimal sole," shares Rastogi.

The team currently consists of six craftspersons operating out of a workshop in Khandari, Agra. The biggest challenge, Rastogi says, is finding skilled shoemakers. "The younger generation doesn't want to learn shoe-making from their fathers, and prefer migrating to bigger cities in search of work. Our mission is to give clients a choice to build a shoe they desire while creating a market for these craftsmen."

In future, the brand, which vows to waste no material, is likely to experiment further with shapes. "The is idea is not make the same shoe in eight sizes. Instead, we put effort into making a pair that's perfect and not just another shoe," he says.