OUR LEATHER
The story about expertise and craftsmanship.
About our leather
At EOS we bring quality leather and accomplished shoemakers into deliberate synergy. Wherever possible we use 100% full Aniline leather – the majority of which we source from Italian, Gold and Silver Leather Working Group certified tanneries – and only engage with shoemakers experienced in working with this challenging yet beautiful material.
ITALIAN ANILINE LEATHER
Full-grain aniline leather is the hallmark of EOS.
Often called ‘organic’ or ‘naked leather’ in celebration of its natural state, it comes from tumbling the finest quality hides in drums of translucent soluble dye (aniline) to produce a natural depth of colour. With such minimal intervention, the markings, history, personality and warmth remain.
Aniline leathers are softer and more breathable than their processed and artificially coated counterparts. Supple and rich with natural qualities they play into the shoe’s aesthetics and provide the perfect canvas for shoemaking artisans.
Aniline leather shoes accommodate your foot’s shape and habits, delivering a special kind of warmth and comfort.
And much like a favourite old leather jacket, shoes made from aniline leather acquire colour and character in a natural personalisation process called ‘patination’ which occurs beautifully over time.
FINISHING
After each EOS shoe is crafted, it must be carefully finished by hand.
Yet the truth is, only very few shoemakers intimately understand the nuances of this expressive material.
That’s why we hero the men and women who turn our natural leather shoes into warm, breathing, individual pieces with a beating heart.
Using skills mastered in family-owned workshops and handed down for generations (not learned in ‘school of shoes’), these craftsmen and women apply a careful combination of creams, waxes and oils using burnishing, brushing, antiquing and polishing techniques. Together these bring out the range of distinctive finishes EOS customers know and love.
This final hand-finishing provides not just a unique aesthetic but also protection from everyday environmental and wear and tear challenges. And while well-made leather footwear ages better and lasts longer than most corrected grained leather or synthetic materials, like all things of great value, our footwear must be treated with care.