CALMANTHOLOGY pop-up store, which opened on Wednesday, November 27th at Isetan Shinjuku Store, Men's Building B1F, Men's Shoes, is proving to be a great success. We spoke with the shoe designer, Makoto Kaneko, a "shoe man" who has set a new standard for authentic, high-quality shoes in the modern era. He shared his thoughts on the fourth season's "PAGE.04" collection and his commitment to ISETAN MEN'S exclusive color, which will be released in a limited edition of 12 pairs.

The world of CALMANTHOLOGY has expanded in both manufacturing methods and design.

In a sense, this could be considered a natural evolution unique to Mr. Kaneko.

Starting with 12 carefully selected dress shoe styles that the brand itself positions as the "ultimate standard," CALMANTHOLOGY 's collection has steadily evolved step by step, from PAGE.02, which expresses the elegance and "breakdown" of a young Yves Saint Laurent, to PAGE.03, which embodies emotional "movement" within a quiet presence. And now, PAGE.04, delivered this autumn/winter, stands out with its exquisitely androgynous, elegant, chic, and fashion-conscious models that beautifully "showcase" men's feet. Of course, the craftsmanship remains overwhelmingly meticulous and authentic.

"I try to create collections with a view to future developments to a certain extent. With PAGE.05, which will be delivered next spring, I intended to return to my own roots in my own way. So, PAGE.04, which leads up to that, was also a season to determine how much deviation the CALMANTHOLOGY brand should take when it tries to move away from the standard."


From classical standards to original designs with a modern flair— CALMANTHOLOGY 's evolution, which has greatly expanded its world, seems to perfectly synchronize with the history of Mr. Kaneko himself, who spent his childhood frequenting his grandfather's tailor shop and later became engrossed in European designer clothing. It could also be said that this is a manifestation of his creative style, in which he wants users to feel the doubts and struggles he faced as a creator, and the process by which he overcame them.

"This season, we've ventured into the McKay construction method for the first time, introducing a new line of cut-off shoes. This is something we could only do now, after three seasons of production. By starting with the orthodox Goodyear welt method, we thoroughly crafted the structure, and were able to arrive at our own unique McKay construction method, utilizing that know-how. For example, while a thin sponge is generally used for the cushioning material, CALMANTHOLOGY uses cork, just like with Goodyear. It's a very luxurious McKay construction, isn't it? Similarly, in the future, we'd like to explore other methods, such as our own unique cement construction method."

Mr. Kaneko takes the McKay and cement construction methods, which were originally created primarily for mass production, cost reduction, and process simplification, as positive variations in expression and works tirelessly to evolve them in his own unique way. But of course, the evolution and deepening of his designs are also remarkable.



"With last season's black and white combination shoes and this season's cut-out shoes, we were able to confirm the design range of CALMANTHOLOGY . These cut-out shoes are aimed at creating pumps for men's shoes. Men's shoes tend to be bound by the idea of ultimately approaching an orthodox standard form, even while paying attention to techniques and lines. However, women's pumps and high heels are specifically designed to 'show off' the beauty of a woman's feet. We created this cut-out shoe series because we wanted to incorporate these beautifully 'showing' cutting lines into men's shoes. The way the skin is shown when worn, the way the V-shape and gaps are created—the beautiful, androgynous shape of the foot created by the cutting is perhaps the biggest theme of this PAGE.04."

Their attention to color extends to the leather itself and even the metal fittings.

The CALMANTHOLOGY "PAGE.04" collection, which is currently being showcased at a pop-up store, is finally here. As the season draws to a close, Mr. Kaneko seems to be feeling the positive response he had hoped for.

"The response has been incredibly positive. We had anticipated it, but with the introduction of highly fashionable models, it feels like we've attracted a different kind of customer base than before. These are people who aren't just shoe enthusiasts, but rather people who have fashion integrated into their lifestyle. PAGE.04 was a season where we really grasped how far we could express a sense of high fashion as CALMANTHOLOGY . I was surprised myself that models with strong designs, such as Western-cut cut shoes, were realized and well-received (laughs)."

This pop-up store, featuring the entire PAGE.04 lineup, will showcase a special Jodhpur boot in an exclusive color made for Isetan Men's. As a rare brown color not available in the regular line, it's attracting a lot of attention.


"Actually, when Isetan requested to see a jodhpur, I happened to be working on one for PAGE.04. They liked the finished product, and I also thought it would be good to have different color variations. So, we decided to go with dark brown. As I imagined, I felt that the silhouette became much softer with the brown color. This softness is something that black doesn't have. However, if we had started production with brown in mind from the beginning, this design and line would never have been created."

However, this custom color wasn't just a simple color change. To achieve the ideal color and texture, they even re-selected the leather itself.

"The original black version uses Vegano leather from Annonay. But brown leather, unlike black, has a strong tannin content. When you try to dye Vegano brown, the wrinkles that form after wear end up looking very stiff. So, we decided to switch to calfskin from Dupuy, which has a high chrome content while still containing tannins. We were confident that this would bring us closer to the elegant, reddish-brown we envisioned. As a result, I think we achieved the perfect color we were aiming for. It was a custom color order, but actually, we secretly made it a custom leather order (laughs)."




Furthermore, this brown color is said to be the result of Mr. Kaneko himself meticulously hand-dyeing each and every item, a testament to his dedication to his craft.

"The leather itself is a light brown, close to skin tone, but by applying multiple layers of patina, we achieve this deep brown color. Furthermore, we use brass hardware to match the leather color. It's incredibly time-consuming and labor-intensive, so we could only manage to make 12 pairs."

Despite being a shoe designer, his dedication to every detail, from processing the metal fittings and finishing and polishing the products to even creating display materials, is truly befitting of a "shoe man." And when it comes to the massive increase in custom orders he receives, he says, "Custom orders allow me to challenge myself with things I hadn't even considered before. It's beneficial for me, so it's not a burden at all," which leaves one utterly speechless, beyond mere admiration.

Despite his busy schedule, Mr. Kaneko is planning to make time to be at the pop-up store.

"It's still undecided, but I'd like to find some time on the weekend to serve customers. I'm really looking forward to meeting discerning customers."

CALMANTHOLOGY is also planning a completely custom-made model designed specifically for ISETAN MEN'S , so it seems we'll definitely be keeping a close eye on them in the future.