Leather
Quality comes from quality
Using lesser quality leather for very good shoes, which is not on a par with the associated Goodyear construction, is a moral and aesthetic no-go: disrespectful towards the work involved and thoughtless towards the environment, when shoes that could last longer end up in the landfill prematurely due to "failure to help".
lászló Budapest naturally only uses leather that can match the beauty of the welted and double-stitched models and the quality of the manufacturing process. Even if top quality hides are becoming increasingly difficult to find in times of ever less animal welfare.
Tanning is transformation
In addition to the health of the cattle, tanning determines the properties of the leather. Tanning is true alchemy, as it stops natural decomposition and transforms the unstable protein structures of the animal hide into durable leather fibers. A cultural practice that opened up a wide range of uses for people from early on - and still does today. In terms of skin-friendliness, breathability and durability, leather is still unmatched or even surpassed by any other retort material.
László Budapest uses only high-quality calf leather for the uppers and linings of its shoes. Chrome tanning is indispensable here, as the fine-pored, dense structure of premium leathers cannot be achieved with vegetable and mineral tanning agents. Vegetable upper leathers have a looser fiber structure and are therefore less dimensionally stable.
This is why lászló Budapest relies on tanneries that skillfully combine traditional tanning processes with modern tanning chemistry.
That went on a cowhide - historical tanning
Until the late 19th century, tanning was done exclusively with barks, fruits, roots, minerals (alum) and fats such as rancid (oxidized) fish oil or animal excrement.
As alchemy developed into chemistry, tanning also became a science. The conversion of animal protein into leather was systematically researched and revolutionized by new processes in the middle of the 19th century. Since then, chromium salts from the laboratory have shortened the tanning process from weeks and months to just a few days, making it possible to produce leather with a particularly fine-pored surface.
lászló Budapest sources its leather from the best traditional German and Italian tanneries, which are subject to EU directives and guarantee complete transparency of the controlled tanning process.
Upper leather - lining leather - sole leather
We use two different calfskin qualities for our upper leather. Dense, shiny box calf suits the more formal looks. While the slightly matt, open-pored calf leathers in various finishes perfectly accentuate our models with a more modern look.
We also use the finest calfskin for the lining. Because traditional "steaming" (moist) processing of the shoe bottom leaves unsightly water marks in vegetable lining leather, we prefer controlled chrome-tanned calfskin, which reacts to moisture without discoloration.
Other conditions apply to the sole leather. We cut our soles from cattle croupons (back part), which are tanned chrome-free, with a high proportion of vegetable tanning agents and based on traditional methods.
After passing through the so-called water workshop (soaking, dehairing), the hides are tanned with synthetic tanning agents in the first tanning process and then tanned with vegetable tanning agents from bark and fruit in traditional pit storage.
Leather intended for the outsole is finally compacted by mechanical rolling, making it more resistant to moisture in contact with the ground.
Leather for insoles and midsoles, on the other hand, must not be too firm in structure. That is why we use the softer cow split for this purpose, which remains elastic even when double-soled.
With the top quality leathers described above, wearing lászló Budapest styles is a happy and aesthetic as well as a bio-dynamic experience.