A small shoe repair shop in the East of England has become a favorite among British celebrities and sports stars in need of repairs to their fashionable sneakers, heels and flats.
Based in Boston, Lincolnshire, Shoe Lab started as a local shoe store cleaning Adidas Gazelles for £10 ($12) in January 2020. It is now a UK-wide service repairing hundreds of Gucci, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton shoes every week.
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Shoe Lab’s success stems from addictively satisfying videos depicting the process of repairing £5,000 Christian Dior SE sneakers and £900 Christian Louboutin SAS heels for its 50,000 Instagram followers. Nearly every day, we bring back the well-worn Balenciaga logo and worn-out Gucci tennis sneakers to attract celebrities like singer Kelly Katona, Love Island star Joe Garratt, England cricket captain Ben Stokes, and millions of other users. It’s been garnering accolades from style and fitness influencers. follower.
The work is advanced and painstaking. Andrei Apacheco, head of the painting department, who also produces Instagram videos for Shoe Lab, says it takes Alexander 20 minutes to fix one of his McQueen logos.
Shoe Lab’s founders operate on the belief that many major luxury shoe brands aren’t concerned with making shoes last longer, which creates an opportunity for repair shops. Co-founder Luke Goodyear, 30, says he would never buy Axel Arigato sneakers.
Andreia Pacheco repaints shoe soles at the Shoe Lab in Boston, UK. (Ian Hodgson/Bloomberg)
“The spikes on Louboutin sneakers often come off,” says co-founder Kai Overton. “Last week someone texted me that 25 of his spikes fell off,” all he was from one pair. That’s about a quarter of the about 100 spikes that occur in new shoes.
“You’re paying £1,000 for a shoe like this Dior, and sometimes the dye runs into your shoe. ‘If you pay £1,000, you think you won’t get any ink.'” (Burberry, Christian) Representatives for Dior, Christian Louboutin and Axel Arigato did not respond to requests for comment.)
Shoe Lab owners discovered that the best repeat business comes from Louboutin owners. Customers wear them on the street “once and the red comes off,” he says. Others “will ask for a red protective film on the bottom because they’ll be saving up all year round to get them,” he adds. “You wouldn’t see a girl on social media standing still wearing Louboutins. They would all be doing this,” he said, lifting his leg to reveal the back of his shoe. rice field.
Some customers send dozens of pairs of shoes for repair at once. Much of the footwear is loved, comfy, and well-used (a £5,000 Dior sneaker was repaired after being damaged while skateboarding).
A Shoe Lab employee checks the repair. (Ian Hodgson/Bloomberg)
Owners of spiked sneakers often try to glue them with a large amount of store-bought superglue. “It’s always been that way,” she says Kye. Putting shoes in the washing machine is another big no-no for her and an opportunity for Shoe Lab. “It completely ruins the suede,” says Kai, noting traces of the material when it’s healthy.
Goodyear is particularly excited about the prospect of people wearing trainers at a muddy music festival and the demand for his services afterwards. , I know it’s not charging through the Tough Mudder.
The team is baffled by how fast the company is growing and the total number of shoes they repair each day exceeds 50. Kai, a self-professed ‘shoe addict’, says he owns £35,000 worth of shoes and built a shelf around his bed designed to display them. “The world has gone crazy. Kids these days want Alexander his McQueen for Christmas,” he says. Also, if your shoes are damaged, Shoe Lab will repair them.
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