K. Jacques and the beginnings of the St Tropez sandals
Jacques Keklikian and his wife were Armenian refugees when they arrived in St Tropez, France, in 1933. There, they opened a small shoe workshop, more because they had to work than for a real interest in the shoe business. The address, 25 rue Allard, would become their first shop as well as the place to build sandals. In the fifties, St Tropez became the place to be for all celebrities on holidays. All these celebrities wanted of course to walk around the town with tropéziennes – the St Tropez typical sandal – at their feet. Many of them thus came to see K. Jacques to buy their sandals. The label is today still very famous and K. Jacques has managed to become a reference in leather sandals, even working sometimes with designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Balenciaga, Castelbajac, Givenchy, Paule Ka or Isabel Marant.
Handicraft custom-made sandals
Success has never made K. Jacques’s head spin too much, and this is the reason why all the fahionistas in the world have kept on buying its shoes. Even if nowadays some of the production steps are fulfilled abroad, all the sandals are put together in a Saint Tropez workshop where about twenty-five people work all year long. Most of the sandals are hand and custom made to perfectly suit the customer’s feet, and it takes about 123 items for one hour and a half of work to build one pair of sandals.
Where can I buy J. Jacques sandals?
If you are not planning a holiday in Saint Tropez anytime soon, do not worry, you will still be able to walk next summer wearing K. Jacques sandals. Just check luxury fashion shops, mostly on the web, that will often have very nice shoes.
