cost of making high-end shoes (article)

TheSweetest · May 19, 2004

New York Metro

The shoe designer Edmundo Castillo does not dream of stiletto heels or capretto toes. “Every morning, when I open my eyes, the first thing I think is, What’s the euro today?” he says. “And then I run to the newsstand, and I know immediately if I am going to have a great day or a terrible one.”

Castillo is not alone: If you are a designer of high-end shoes—the type with smooth leather soles, invisible glue, and lovely hand-stitching—they simply must be made in Italy. But as a result of the increasingly mighty euro, the cost to U.S.-based designers of making a shoe there has skyrocketed. “The costs have risen 30 percent since the days of the lira,” says shoe designer Diana Broussard. Naturally, the cost of buying an expensive shoe here has shot up, too.

“Our retail prices have gone up, like, $100 in some instances” from last year, says Castillo. “But,” he insists, “the difference is not going to me.”

So, how much does this $515 shoe actually cost to make? Follow these three steps.

1.) The Italian factory charges the designer around $130. Of that, $40 to $60 is for the leather. Extras (in this case, the buckle and stiletto heel) cost $40 to $50.

2.) Another $40 to $60 of that goes to labor, which varies depending on complexity. The most expensive way to finish the heel is the “coda” method, in which one piece of leather is stretched the length of the shoe, from tip to heel. For this shoe, separate pieces were used. To get the shoe to the U.S., the designer pays a further “landing cost” (shipping and duties) of $20 to $30.

3.) Retailers mark up the shoes by the standard industry multiplier of about 2.4 times the wholesale price they’ve paid for them. A $515 shoe, then, would have a wholesale price of $216, meaning that after paying the factory and landing costs, the designer makes a profit, depending on the euro, of anywhere between $40 and $70.

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I've always wondered about these really expensive shoes. Now I know that department stores have great power compared to regular designer stores when it comes to lowering prices.

Oh yeah this was the shoe the article was talking about.

softgrey · May 19, 2004

i recently saw a pair of beautiful margiela pumps that i was dying for...i saw them in london and again here in nyc...the price was $670... ...for a simple pair of perfect black pumps...absolutely shocking!!!... ... i passed... ...but i will dream about them for years... ...prices are out of control...

thx for the very informative post...i realy don't see how these smaller designers are going to make it...at these prices...they won't sell enough shoes to stay in business...

asta · May 19, 2004

wow.

thanks for the article. that shoe is cute, too!

leyla m. · May 19, 2004

great article.
im glad its out in the open now that the cost of making GOOD shoes is high.
shoes just keep on getting more and more expensive

Marlee · May 19, 2004

i had NO idea it cost that much to make shoes. thanks for a very informative article!

O/T but did anyone see the daily candy about how you could take these classes to learn to make your own shoes? sounded very interesting.

paprika_hiccup · May 19, 2004

Originally posted by Marlee@May 19th, 2004 - 10:17 am
i had NO idea it cost that much to make shoes. thanks for a very informative article!

O/T but did anyone see the daily candy about how you could take these classes to learn to make your own shoes? sounded very interesting.
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OT agian- but I am going to take it- w/ my BF, too!

Its only 250 bucks- every weekend for the summer

social*butterfly · May 20, 2004

Interesting article....

oceanharlot · May 20, 2004

i'm going to try and have some of my designs made this summer. i should work on my sketches again. fun fun fun.

Aida.Sevan · May 29, 2004

thanx for the article! i was very usefull for me to read, cos wanted to know how it works. thanx a lot!

TheSoCalledPrep · May 29, 2004

But what about the $2000 Dolce & Gabbana jeans? It just seems like jeans could NOT cost more than a few hundred to produce...

Aida.Sevan · May 29, 2004

Originally posted by TheSoCalledPrep@May 29th, 2004 - 6:31 pm
But what about the $2000 Dolce & Gabbana jeans? It just seems like jeans could NOT cost more than a few hundred to produce...
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D&G picks for the name. As a conclusion, you can earn much more on clothes, then on shoes!
Anyway...

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