Pierre Corthay is a bespoke shoemaker in Paris. As a young man, he joined the Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, France’s elite craft education guild to learn shoemaking. He went on to work at John Lobb Paris as well as Berluti, before founding his eponymous house, Maison Corthay, in 1990 at 1 Rue Volney. In 2008, he received the great honor of being named Maître d’Art (Master of Art) by the French Ministry of Culture. He recently returned to full time bespoke shoemaking under his new brand, Monsieur Pierre Bespoke, which you can find on Instagram at the following link: https://www.instagram.com/monsieurpierrebespoke/
We discuss his early days, education in a Rudolf Steiner school, learning the craft of shoemaking from the wooden lasts to the stitched uppers, the joys and struggles of building a company, and other matters of Parisian style.
Sincere thanks to Pierre Corthay.
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