For as long as Crown has been making shoes, Japan has been part of the story. Our makers have travelled to Tokyo to show what Northampton hands can do. Chris has measured feet in the country's oldest importer of British shoes. A little Japanese influence has always been present in our footwear.
Two of our recent D drops have already been made in Shinki Cordovan. Now it gets a whole collection to itself, and their craftwork comes to join ours here in Northampton, the home of shoes.
Our best-selling sneaker and our newest style, both in Shinki Cordovan
The Shinki Cordovan Collection brings together our best-selling Harlestone Hand Stitch sneaker, alongside our most recent product development, the Yardley GAT. Both are available in four Shinki Shell Cordovan colours.
A collaboration between two craft businesses, a tannery in Japan and a factory in Northampton, who share the same starting point: the best that is possible, by staff who know their craft.
What makes Japanese Shell Cordovan rare
The tannery
There are very few Shell Cordovan tanneries left in the world. Japan has one. Shinki Hikaku, based in Himeji, is that one. It is a privilege to be one of their customers, and one that came out of our long-standing Japanese relationship and a shared belief in the work coming first.
Chris Woodford with the Shinki Hikaku team during our visit to the Shinki Hikaku tannery in Himeji, Japan.
The material
Shell Cordovan comes from a limited number of horsehides, sourced from the meat industry. Each hide has two dense connective tissue membranes (shells), that vary in size from one to three square feet. That is all. Two small shells per horse, and only from a limited supply. It makes Shell Cordovan one of the rarest leathers in the world.
The tanning time
At least six months of pit tanning is required to bring a shell to life, done by makers who have been doing it for decades. The first job is to work the raw leather to find the shell inside. From there, it takes patience and knowledge to move each shell at the right moment, through the pits, the drying, and the finishing stages.
Shells being worked on in the tanning pits at the Shinki factory in Japan.
The colour
Because the colours are all made in small runs, sometimes a shade will be temporarily out of stock. If yours is not available when you visit the website, join the waiting list and we will make sure you are the first to know when it returns.
A Palette Drawn from Japan
Working with a leather this rare is a joy. Colours vary in shade from one delivery to the next, as is the nature of hand tanning with traditional methods on natural material. Which is one of the many small things that makes your own pair of sneakers unique.
We chose four colours that suit the Shinki tannage, which shows best in the more vibrant tones. The natural tannins soften the colour and let it patina to your flex over time. Chosen too because they complement our existing Horween Shell Cordovan range. Between the two Cordovan tanneries, we think there is something for everyone.
We gave the four colours our own names. We wanted them to carry something of the country the leather comes from, and each is drawn from Japanese culture and traditional aesthetics.
Sunflower (向日葵, pronounced Himawari)
The Japanese word for sunflower. In Japan, sunflowers mean summer, and they carry real emotional weight because after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, they were planted across the site, both as a symbol of recovery and to absorb toxins from the soil. The flower has become tied to hope and healing in a way that feels quite specific to Japan.
Indigo (藍, pronounced Ai)
Known worldwide as Japan Blue. The traditional aizome dyeing craft is one of the oldest in Japan and takes a full year to produce. Only a handful of makers still do it the old way, all in one prefecture. Historically worn by samurai, and the same indigo tradition sits at the heart of Japan's world-famous denim craft.
Amber (琥珀, pronounced Kohaku)
The Japanese word for amber, the fossilised tree resin. Used for centuries in traditional beadwork and Buddhist prayer beads. Warm and glowing. Kohaku is also a well-known Japanese name.
Moss (苔, pronounced Koke)
Moss is mentioned in Japan's national anthem, as a symbol of time passing. Kyoto has a famous temple called Kokedera, the "Moss Temple", with over 100 kinds of moss growing across it. In Japanese aesthetics moss is central to wabi-sabi, which is all about the beauty of imperfection, patience, and quiet endurance.
What Shinki Cordovan is like to work with, from those who do
The years it took to source and stock this leather were worth it just to see how our makers react to it. So we asked them to share what it's like to work with, in their own words.
The clicker:
"Small shells make selecting and placing patterns a real challenge. A size 13 pair, for sure. Every shell is different, with its own colour variation and small blemishes, so every pair of sneakers has to be carefully matched, especially when more than one shell is needed. But the handle of Shinki Cordovan is like nothing else. It has a beautiful super smooth finish. I could recognise it with my eyes shut."
The sewing machinist:
"Beautiful. Lovely to work with. Pliable and soft, which lets me manoeuvre it into position. Lush and gorgeous."
The hand lasting bench:
"Shinki Cordovan has a little pull-up that shows when you apply pressure. It's quite soft for a Cordovan, which makes it a little easier to move around as I want it."
The finishing room:
"I polish the Cordovan twice. Once in the lasting room, to nourish the leather as it is being worked. And a second time to present it when it's finished. There's oil deep inside the leather itself.
Once it's polished up, it has a lovely shine. Well nourished, and a vibrant colour that really stands out."
How Shinki Cordovan wears over time
For the geeks among us, here is a bit more on what actually happens...
Because it is tanned to a firmer, tighter fibre structure than most Cordovans, Shinki does not form the deep waves you find in other Shell Cordovans. Instead, it develops fine, close-set ripples over time, sometimes called a "sugary break". Uniform, precise, and unlike anything else.
The leather itself is a dense block of tightly packed collagen fibres. So dense that surface scratches rarely tear the leather. They simply displace the fibres, which means most scuffs can be gently rubbed out with a deer bone, the small hand tool traditionally used for working with Cordovan.
The really beautiful thing is what happens inside the leather over time. As you wear the shoes and the leather flexes, the pressure and warmth of your body slowly draw the oils sitting deep inside the leather up to the surface. Over weeks and months and years, this creates a patina like nothing else. A deep, glass-like lustre that comes from within.
The leather polishes itself, from the inside out, as you live in the shoes.
Two Cordovan traditions
Our Shinki Cordovan Collection now proudly sits alongside our long-standing Horween Shell Cordovan range. Two Cordovans, from two different tanneries in two different countries, both starting with the same raw material. It is one of the most interesting things about this leather. Same horsehide, two tanning traditions, and two finished leathers each with their own soul. Kindred at the source, but grown up worlds apart.
Horween, based in Chicago and considered one of the finest tanneries in the world, is a wonderfully artisanal place. Character in every corner, and a rustic hands-on tradition that goes back to 1905. You can read about our visit to Horween in our Crown visits Horween blog.
Shinki, in Himeji, is different in feel. Where Horween is artisanal and hands-on, Shinki is refined and meticulous. Its Cordovan wears in fine, close-set ripples rather than Horween's deep waves, and takes on a glass-like inner shine over time.
Two extraordinary ways to work the same rare material. Whichever speaks to you, there is a Cordovan waiting.
The Crown Northampton Shinki Cordovan Collection launches 4 September
Every pair in the Shinki Cordovan Collection is made to order in our Northampton factory. The colours will vary slightly from one delivery to the next, the shells will fall differently across each pair, and over the years the leather will polish itself into a patina that belongs to no one else but you.
Which is exactly what a shoe made this way should do. Every pair is effectively a one-off, because no two Cordovan shells are the same. Made yours as you wear them, and resoleable in our factory whenever the day comes. Which means they can be worn always.
The pricing
The Harlestone Hand Stitch in Shinki Cordovan is £830. The Yardley GAT is £650. Both shoes are built the same way inside, using the same lining, sole, and construction. What differs between them is the amount of Shinki Cordovan on the upper. The Harlestone is full Shinki, while the Yardley uses Shinki panels on a vegetable tan calf body. The price reflects that.
We like to be transparent about our pricing. Because we sell direct, there is no wholesale mark-up, no retail middlemen, and no expensive marketing costs baked in. What you pay for is the leather, the makers, and the time it takes to build the shoe.
The Shinki Cordovan Collection is available to order from 4 September.
