French brands champion Norwegian welting
Lyon-based fashion brand Arpenteur has incorporated footwear from high-end French manufacturer Paraboot into its latest collection.
Arpenteur’s founders, Marc Asseily and Laurent Bourven, describe the brand’s products as combining the “utilitarian quality ”of outerwear, workwear and sportswear with the “sophistication” traditional designs. They aim to support local menswear manufacturing and, therefore, all the products are entirely made in France.
Paraboot’s Cambriole shoes and Elevage boots are the products Arpenteur has opted to include in its newest offering. The Cambriole is a shoe based on an earlier Paraboot model, the Chambord, with the redesign taking place specifically for Arpenteur.
For its part, the Elevage is an elasticated boot, again specifically designed for Arpenteur, this time with traditional boots worn by cattle herdsmen in the Camargue in southern France as the inspiration.
Both footwear products have uppers made from oiled nubuck, goatskin linings and natural rubber soles. For both, Paraboot has used the Norwegian welting method to attach the soles to the upper.
Paraboot is an enthusiastic user of Norwegian welting. This method involves double-stitching, with the upper being stitched to the sole vertically through the welts and then a horizontal line of stitching to strengthen the welts’ attachment to the sole.
“Norwegian welting has been used traditionally in mountain and equestrian footwear,” Paraboot has said, “but it is coming into everyday styles more and more. It makes shoes water-resistant and easy to re-sole. Its name remains something of a mystery, though, because this method does not seem to have any direct connection to Norway.”
