For the City | Norman Vilalta x Leffot

This month we created a very special Group-made-to-order (GMTO) with our good friend Steven Taffel, a great visionary of luxury footwear and the founder of Leffot, one of the pioneer men's luxury footwear boutiques in the world.

For those of you new to Norman Vilalta, in 2014 we presented our inaugural ready-to-wear collection with Steven at Leffot. This collection was not only a huge success but also a milestone for our brand since it was our first step outside of the bespoke world.

Since then, we’ve had the pleasure of hosting our NYC Trunk Show each year at Leffot and our shoes have been adorned by countless customers of Steven's throughout the US and abroad.

With the travel challenges of last year, unfortunately it was impossible to visit Leffot in 2020. Instead, we decided that it was finally time to collaborate with Steven on some shoes.

Together we created an extraordinary offering of four new styles that we feel fit the driven, innovative, and go-getter spirit of New Yorkers. We developed this joint GMTO as a celebration of the reopening of New York City and a fresh and positive step forward for everyone, as more and more cities around the globe are able to resume business again.

Taking the first step is our new semi-lined Christopher Chukka Boot in chocolate suede.  

Christopher is a 3-eyelet chukka with a sleek profile featuring our chiseled toe last, an unlined ankle for added comfort, embroidery detailing on the shaft, and a Vibram Rubber Button Sole which delivers durable grip and cushioning.

We named this boot as a tribute to Leffot, after 10 Christopher Street in the West Village of NYC, where you can find Steven and his team.

The chocolate suede is a classic color that will compliment nearly all wardrobes, and the sharp design will make Christopher your new go-to chukka.

Our second shoe is our Frank Cap Toe Derby in onyx.

Frank was originally scheduled for launch last year at our annual trunk show with Leffot, but was postponed because of travel restrictions (we got creative during the quarantines and introduced the shoe in a different color with our Brown Friday GMTO).

Frank features a marvelously textured upper in Vegano Inca, an asymmetric pattern which creates a streamlined silhouette around the entire shoe, and a comfortable, lightweight, and durable Vibram Gumlite Commando Sole.

With the ongoing popularity of our Derby Simple Shoe at Leffot, we created this cap toe variation with Steven with New York City in mind. We wanted a stylish shoe that could be dressed up or down, and durable enough to survive the city streets and long walks of the average New Yorker.

We selected Onyx because when we think New York “chic”, all black is never a bad idea.

Our third shoe is our Kerouac Derby Boot with a beautiful and slightly rebellious reverse patina.

Kerouac is a mid-cut derby boot with an upper in French box calf from Tanneries du Puy, an elongated vamp and chiseled toe, simplified punching on the facings, a Vibram Rubber Button Sole, a shaft detailed with embroidery, and in the words of Norman himself, "a sexy shaped heel".

We selected our dark oak handmade patina, a rich blend of brown and burgundy with a vibrant contrast of caramelized honey at the toe box.

The boot is bold and eye catching, yet not ostentatious. The tasteful color combination will liven up a suit and turn heads on your weekend walk.

The final shoe of our design collaboration with Leffot is our Coltrane Wingtip Balmoral Derby.

For this shoe, we selected a handmade 3D mahogany patina with a slightly golden-brown 3D effect at the toe box which has a story related to Leffot as well...

In August of 2014, the Leffot team challenged Norman to see if he could do something interesting with grain leather for the collection. Norman’s reply was, “Absolutely. I will create something that doesn´t exist. You’ll see.”

A few months later, our 3D patina was born, and since then has become a signature detail of the Norman Vilalta brand. As such, we couldn´t collaborate on a shoe without bringing back this patina to Leffot.

In addition to the 3D patina, Coltrane features an upper in French Vegano Inca from Tanneries du Annonay, 4 eyelet lacing, brogue detailing along the wingtip and balmoral seam, and an asymmetric pattern with a seam tucked away at the inner heel.

We selected a comfortable, durable, and lighweight Vibram Gumlite Commando Sole which is perfect for the city streets, and included a storm welt which creates a bolder profile and protects the shoe in all weather conditions. 

The result is a handsome, versatile shoe that is both elegant and comfortable and will compliment both work and casual clothing.

Our Christopher Chukka Boot, Frank Cap Toe Derby, Kerouac Derby Boot, and our Coltrane Balmoral Wingtip Derby are now available in our For the City with Leffot Group-Made-to-Order through the end-of-day Tuesday, July 6th.

All shoes are bench made, Goodyear-welted, and hand finished by our artisan team in Spain before shipment. This process includes the use of glass, sandpaper, inks, creams, waxes, fire and multiple iron tools to achieve a bespoke quality finishing that the Norman Vilalta brand has become known for. 

Orders can be placed either through Norman Vilalta or through Leffot at their retail store in New York City or via their website, www.leffot.com.

If you would like to place your order with a 50% deposit, use the code GMTODEPOSIT during checkout. The balance will be collected before the final shipment of your shoes.

Changes to the upper, lining, last, width, sole, and patina of the shoes are available with a 200 euro change fee. Please email sales@normanvilalta.com for any questions or change requests.