Jacques Keklikian and his wife Elise, Armenian refugees, opened a small workshop in 1933 at 33 rue Allard in St. Tropez. A gifted craftsman, Jacques began manufacturing strappy leather sandals and his legacy lives on today with three subsequent generations of the family expanding their sandal business, KJaques.
So how did they reach me, here in Australia, so far away from France?
The distinctly hand-made brand has embraced the digital age and set-up a bespoke online custom-service that ships anywhere in the world, as many must do to survive in this lap-top ruled shopping age.
But more than this, KJaques offers prospective customers the opportunity to create sandals of your own design. The process is pretty simple: you can either choose an existing style and then customise the types of leather you wish to use; or you can contact them with your own design and work with them to create it. Luxury, much?!
I decided on the ‘Sophocle’ style, and then used a combination of snake, printed pony-hair and suede to make-up the leathers in my sandals, as you can see below.
I love to discover independent brands where-ever they are in the world, especially ones that offer a little bit of bespoke luxury in this day-and-age of mass-produced cookie-cutter fashion. The quality of the sandals is superb, the only thing I would say is the middle strap that goes over my foot was quite tight, so I’ve had to stretch it. I have narrow feet, so didn’t even think about it, but as they are pretty much made-to-order, if you don’t fit a standard size, perhaps let them know so they fit perfectly.
Other than that, I’m in love and expect to wear them all summer long!
