Yuki Shirahama Bottier

Yuki Shirahama makes fully bespoke shoes in Kyoto, in the French bottier tradition. He studied at Guild of Crafts under Chihiro Yamaguchi, apprenticed at Spigola under Koji Suzuki, then ran the bespoke division at Altan Bottier in Paris before opening his own workshop in Fukuoka in 2010; the atelier has been in Kyoto since 2017, now in Yamashina ward. The house line is that shoes should be partners that walk through life with you — built with inherited technique and as much care in the hidden structure as the visible. Visits are by appointment, 11:00–19:00.