John Lobb is one of the main manufacturers in Northampton, which became a major center of the shoe business back in the XVII century. Although it has been owned by Hermes Group since 1976, the factory is convinced that there is nothing better than the production method that was invented in the XIX century, and modern machines do not measure up to the old ones in most cases. Laser is used here, but not for cutting leather, it is used to create plastic patterns. These patterns are then used by four clickers (the name of the profession came from the characteristic clicking sound when the blade hits the surface of the cutting table) to cut the skin along the outline in the old-fashioned way by hand, using a feather knife.
In total, the John Lobb factory produces no more than 450-500 pairs of shoes per week, this is practically a single-piece production. This also means that employees sometimes have to work with twenty different models of shoes in one day, rather than doing unified operations of mass-producing. The labor process at John Lobb is organized differently from other factories, where the rule "one employee – one operation" is more common. Shoes in Northampton are made using Goodyear technology, which allows, when the time comes, to separate the leaky sole from the top of the shoe and replace it.
John Lobb, like Hermes, selects the highest quality leather and uses the skins of 6-month-old French calves. No more than 60% of the sheet is suitable for cutting, small accessories are made from the remaining parts.
The John Lobb collection has some model shoes that are there – a kind of a brand classic, as well as seasonal models. However, even iconic models have undergone light finetuning. For example, City II – black oxfords with parallel stitching on the toe – acquired a more elegant outline. Sennen doublemonks have slightly elongated straps on the thickened sole. And the Lopez loafers, the archived model of Lobb Atelier since 1950, have acquired a rubber sole in addition to some new shades. The latest classics of the brand include Porth and Levah sneakers. Every year the brand produces them in various colors and material combinations.
