Alden Embodies Shoe Comfort

When asked about the origin of his shoemaking, Katsukawa brought out a pair of white shoes. "These are Alden shoes I bought for ¥12,000 at a vintage shop in Okachimachi when I was 20. I found them by pure chance, but when I picked them up, I noticed the heel heights were different on each shoe. When I asked the shop owner, he told me, 'Alden are orthopedic shoes, they're made like this,' and I was intrigued, so I bought them," he recounts.

He apparently wore these Alden shoes frequently. When he was developing the concept for the comfort of his new label "CITY CLIMBING," launched this season, he remembered "Ah, I have those Alden shoes," and re-examined their construction.

"Looking closely, they contained all the basics of comfort. The insole, the long heel counter, the ribbing around the midsole, the way the waist is shaped – they are made so faithfully, and they feel light when worn." Before going to England, he worked for a Japanese shoe manufacturer, making Goodyear-welted shoes, so he was well aware of the difficulties involved, such as the long heel counter that holds the heel from the side.

Lessons Learned from Paul Harnden

Katsukawa encountered Paul Harnden's shoes in Nakameguro when he was 24 or 25. "As I had been making serious business shoes at a shoe manufacturer, they were incredibly sensational shoes. After that, I studied under teachers from Church's and Tricker's bespoke shoemaking at the Northampton vocational school, and then apprenticed with Paul Harnden," says Katsukawa.

When asked what he learned from Paul Harnden, he replied, "More than shoemaking itself, it was about the fact that there's a way of life like this. That there are people who express what they envision and live without compromise."

He continued, "It's not so much about design as it is about a worldview, like an artist's style. I learned the importance of being an originator."

A Commitment to Nappa Leather

"After encountering various shoes and wearing them, when I considered my own style, I realized I was pursuing British style and the American style derived from it. I liked leather, but what is the opposite of the highest quality young calfskin used by Hermès or John Lobb? What is the antithesis of what European royalty favored? I found a beauty in nappa leather that isn't in textbooks, a beauty of leather that no one has discovered yet. I felt that even rough-looking leather could be beautiful."

Katsukawa, who says he arrived at nappa leather in pursuit of "fundamental beauty beyond style," has been using it since 2006 when he began making dress shoes. It also appeared in his collection when he debuted his brand in 2007, and the pieces presented in the Spring/Summer collection that year were sold at United Arrows.

"Nappa leather has also evolved compared to those days; it's become more abrasion-resistant and develops a beautiful patina with age. The 'ultimate nappa leather' was used in the 'shoes that return to the earth' exhibited at Isetan Men's 'JAPAN Shoe Fair 2015.'"