FRECCIA by Riccardo Bestetti
There are many makers of quality footwear in the world, and with the great development of social media in recent years, the global interest has never been higher.
While browsing tumblr, instagram, pinterest and whatnot, you stumble across loads and loads of beautiful shoes, but some make more of an impression than others. For me, the shoemaker who really has set himself apart from the competition is Riccardo Bestetti. The aggressiveness of the lasts, the exquisite finishing, the beautiful designs and the daring experimentation are second to none.
Master Bestetti polishing a pair of wonderful monkstraps. Photo: www.theshoesnobblog.com
I have admired his bespoke work for quite a while, but it was when I saw his MTO/RTW my interested was sparked again, this was something that was really affordable as well.
I wrote a short post about his RTW said, truthfully I might add, that his Maverick oxford was the most beautiful shoe I had ever seen. Shortly thereafter, Riccardo sent me an email, thanking me for my kind words. He continued to tell me how happy he is when someone tells him how much they appreciate his work, and that all a craftsman can dream of is to make something that is loved.
The Maverick by Riccardo Bestetti - The shoe that made me fall in love with Bestetti's work.
After a conversation with Riccardo, I decided to order a pair of MTO oxfords for myself. Riccardo sent me pictures of all of the models which are available as MTO, along with examples of colours, alterations and other things that are usually changed by MTO clients. While I loved so many models, the Maverick was still dearest to me, and thus, my choice was made.
After deciding on a model and a colour (I requested a hand painted, dark brown antuiqed look), Riccardo asked for measurements of my feet along with a list of well fitting shoes and their sizes, just so that he could estimate my size.
After some discussions regarding fit, Riccardo set out to produce the shoes, kindly updating me with some pictures showing some work in progress.
A work in progress update Riccardo sent me when my shoes were finished.
When the shoes finally arrived, I could not believe what I saw. They were beyond what I ever could have expected.
Straight out of the box
The first, and only, disappointment was that they seemed a bit too large in the heel when I tried them on. Riccardo, eager to please and to give me the perfect shoe, offered to remake another pair in half a size smaller, but I declined. My local cobbler could easily do the small fit alteration needed. A friend of mine, did however send one pair back and Riccardo, free of charge, is currently making him a second pair for a better fit. I think that is a great testament to Riccardo's nature of perfection.
After using them frequently for the last couple of weeks, in a swedish climate of rain, slush, gravel covered roads and much more that could kill lesser shoes in a matter of minutes, these have held up exceptionally well. The soles show very little sign of being beaten this badly, besides the discolouration of dirty sidewalks of course.
My Mavericks after several weeks of hard wear
The creases on the uppers are quite visible, but this is due to Riccardo's heavy polishing. The polish has simply cracked in these places, and they will be much more subtle after some normal maintenance.
Amazing detailing - Easily comparable to the likes of Gaziano & Girling
As you can see, the detailing is amazing, especially for the price. These were € 900.00, but you can get the RTW models for € 600.00, which is nothing short of a bargain.
Top view - Showing the amazing Almond last As you have heard time and time again in this post, I am very happy with my purchase. I cannot recommend Riccardo and his work enough. The entire process of ordering was a true pleasure, and the shoes exceeded my expectations in almost every way. If you want to order a pair for yourself (trust me, you do, you really really do), contact Riccardo at [email protected] and tell him that you read this article on the DG6 Group. This article was written by our associate Adam.