The Craftsman Who Created CHANEL Classic Two Colored High-Heeled Shoes Died.

According to the women's wear daily, the chairman of the French footwear Federation and the famous shoe maker Raymond Massaro died in April 8th at the age of 90.

He is the third generation successor of the French custom shoe workshop Massaro. He has designed the famous Beige black and high heel sandals for French fashion house CHANEL, and is also a long-term partner of Karl Lagerfeld, CHANEL's former art director.

As the inheritor of French traditional shoemaking technology, Massaro's life and shoes are closely linked.

Massaro was born in France in March 19, 1929 with a family of shoemaking. His grandfather, S, Bastien Massaro, founded a shoe workshop in Paris on 2 Heping Street in 1894. Massaro, her father Lazare Massaro and her three uncles worked in this workshop.

Massaro didn't want to enter the family business, but he was very interested in engineering. But he began to learn the shoemaking process at the request of his father. "Every day after that, I was very grateful to my father."

Massaro told Reuters in 2007.

In 1947, Massaro obtained professional certificate in shoe making vocational school Ecole des m e tiers de la chaussure, specializing in the production of women's shoes in the fifteen period of Louis, and since then she has entered her own shoe workshop as apprenticeship.

Massaro has a very high starting point, because his family business is the most popular shoe workshop at that time.

According to the introduction of Marie-Jos Phe Bossan's The Art of Shoe, the Duchess of Windsor Wallis Simpson, the famous movie star Elizabeth Taylor and the former world's richest woman are all loyal customers of the shoe shoe workshop. The workshop will customize the unique shoes according to the requirements of these top customers.

In the late 1950s, Massaro, who had entered the workshop for more than ten years, took over the family business, and began to customize shoes for the royal family members and celebrities such as king Hassan II of Morocco, Romy Schneider and other celebrities, and began to establish contacts with many high fashion houses.

The most closely related high-end fashion house with Massaro is CHANEL. Since the end of 1950s, he has been working with CHANEL for a long time, making shoes for the brand high definition series and gradually gaining fame. After that, Chanel also cooperated with Emmanuel Ungaro, Christian Dior, Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul and Emmanuel.

In 2002, Massaro sold the shoe workshop to CHANEL, and the family business formally joined the CHANEL M tiers d'Art advanced handicraft workshop.

Massaro told Reuters that it is a continuation of family shoemaking because there are no children to inherit the family business.

"If I retire one day, the workshop will continue to exist, and the studio in Paris No. 2 Heping Street will continue to keep it."

Up to now, there are only more than 10 craftsmen in Massaro workshop, and it takes 40 hours for a craftsman to make a pair of shoes.

According to fashion and lifestyle media Coveteur, a month before the CHANEL show, the brand will send the design manuscript of Lord Lagerfeld to Massaro workshop.

Realizing the designers' fantastic ideas

Massaro decades of shoe making career has produced many classic shoes.

In 1954, he made ballet shoes for the famous French designer Madame Gr s, who made his debut in the international fashion circle. Then he designed the famous Beige black and French sandals for Coco Chanel in 1957, which is also the highlight of his career.

According to Massaro's introduction to French radio RTL in 2018, Coco Chanel hoped he could make a pair of high-heeled shoes with long legs and visual effects and small feet, and because her feet were swollen easily, she hoped that the shoes would reveal their heels and allow their feet to breathe.

At that time, most high-heeled shoes on the market had sharp points and high heels. The shoes designed by Massaro had a round shoe shape, and the black toe can play the role of modifying the feet. At the same time, the heel is only 6 centimeters, so that women can walk comfortably.

Since Lagerfeld became director of art director of CHANEL, brand shoes have been produced by Massaro workshop every season.

From wooden bottom slippers to PVC pparent high-heeled shoes, and then to tennis shoes in recent seasons, Lord Buddha and Massaro have been trying more possibilities.

Massaro's "cross legged high-heeled shoes" made in 1991 for designer Azzedine Ala A is also an unforgettable classic shoe.

These shoes are made of black leather and red sheepskin sole, and the heel is a pair of legs crossed by women, carved by resin.

Photo source: Azzedine Ala a

Massaro shoes made for Jean Paul Gaultier have a more peculiar and grotesque style.

For example, in 1993, Gaultier designed several high-heeled shoes inspired by spikes. They had no traditional heels but had sole support like football studs.

Although these shoes are not really put into production, they record the Gaultier's fantastic ideas, and also reflect the Massaro's unconventional craft.

Massaro, which has been making shoes for decades, has many "loyal fans". One of them is Lagerfeld who has worked with him for a long time. He told ELLE magazine in early 2019 that he wore Massaro boots every day.

"Do you want to be superior to everyone else?

Wearing Massaro shoes designed specifically for you, walking is also extraordinarily elegant.

Lagerfeld said.

Massaro not only works closely with the famous designers in fashion industry, but also has a great influence on many artists and new designers.

Christopher-Calvin Pollard, an American writer, poet and designer, said in 2017 that Massaro was the one who inspired him to create masterpieces. "He inspires me with his attention to detail, the intention of making works and the joy of creating for women."

After Massaro died, Massaro posted six maps on Instagram, causing grief.

French shoe designer Alexis Lafont also expressed grief for the death of Massaro.

"11 years ago, he agreed to take the time to see me between the two CHANEL meetings.

The legendary shoemaking master carefully looked at the three pairs of shoes I originally designed, and said to me, "your shoes have some meaning and keep working hard." he is the first to say so.

I still remember the lights in his studio that day, and the zebra skin decorations that were carelessly thrown on the floor.

"Although it is 11 years ago, for me, that day is eternal.

Rest in peace, legend. "