Preston Zly

The Lolice shoes were so exciting that I started to think about shoe making as a craft. The old name, Cobbling. I looked for handmade shoes in my city and the people who make them and I came across Preston Zly.

The cobbler duo are a couple, designer and shoemaker, Joanna Preston and sculptor, Petr Zly. Preston began making shoes out of her great love for them, and the difficulty she found in finding well-fitting shoes for her extremely narrow foot. She learnt her skills from the late Bulgarian master craftsman, George Koleff who was tutoring in Adelaide at the time. In 1993 Preston launched her bespoke shoe company and in 2000 Zly became an official business partner and Preston Zly was born. The pair produce shoes out of their Smith Street studio and stock in their store The Signet Bureau, which is on Gertrude Street.

Taking inspiration from historical footwear, ranging from 1930s silver screen glamour to the swinging 1960s, their works are realised in leather, wood and synthetic materials, often in bright colours. Preston's skill combines with Zly's sculptural perspective to create shoes that are not trend-focused, presenting new and unconventional shapes and forms.

Here are some designs from the 09/10 summer collection, Sea Breeze:

'Aeon'

'Avignon'

'Angelica'

And from the current winter collection, Out of The Box:

'Ruched Clara'

'Marlene Wrap'

Preston and Zly have also collaborated with other designers including Akira Isogawa (particular favorites of mine), and Material By Product, for who amazing tatooed Avignon shoes were developed. Here they are:

These images were sourced from the Preston Zly website, www.prestonzly.com.

Material By product image from www.ngv.vic.gov.au.

Much of the information came from an article I read on handmade shoes in Melbourne, 'When The Shoe Fits'. Gina Morris. The Age. May 27, 2007.