Paraboot - From farmers shoe to culture icon

A large proportion of Paraboot’s shoe manufacturing still takes place in Saint-Jean-de-Moirans, just over a hundred years after Rémy Richard founded the company in 1908. It is no coincidence that the production of Paraboot’s leather shoes remains in Saint-Jean-de-Moirans. Paraboot remains family-owned, now in its fourth generation, and its ties to the region run parallel to the company’s history.

For Eric Forestier, who has been CEO of Paraboot for the past seven years, it is as much about preserving artisanal expertise as it is about the family’s own roots in the area.

– The family was born there. The family is still living there. So it was important for the family also to stay in the area.

From farmers shoe to icon

Paraboot has essentially continued to make the same type of shoes, but the world around them has changed. What was once robust work shoes for people in the area has become sought after in international menswear. However, the story begins far from today's fashion boutiques and collaborations.

– At the beginning it was farmer shoes, especially for people in the area here, farmers, people who are working hard and need solid shoes.

The core idea was simple: to produce durable shoes for people who needed them in their work. The shoes were meant to withstand use, and when the sole was eventually worn out, it could be replaced instead of discarding the entire shoe. More than a hundred years later, much of the same philosophy remains.

In France, Paraboot eventually gained a position that extended far beyond work shoes. Eric describes how the brand was everywhere in the 1980s and was worn by people from vastly different backgrounds. In recent years, the same shoes have also found a new audience internationally. Eric himself points to the years around 2019 and a small collaboration with Aimé Leon Dore in New York as a significant turning point for Paraboot's future expansion.

The details that make Paraboot

In an era when many dress shoes are associated with thin soles and delicate silhouettes, Paraboot has instead made the opposite its identity: robust, functional, and with the construction visible.

– When you see a pair of Paraboot shoes, it’s not what you can expect from beautiful luxury shoes, like Italian style, super thin, shiny. We are the opposite. We are fat. We are solid. We are durable. Our norwegian stitching, the chunky sole, the small green leather, and the rubber sole. That’s it. These are the four elements that make a Paraboot.

The robust silhouette is part of the expression, as is the distinctive green label and rubber sole. But above all, the Norwegian seam reappears, a construction that has become something of a hallmark for Paraboot.

The choice of materials also connects Paraboot to a longer tradition of French shoemaking. Among the leathers are materials from the Chicago-based Horween leather and the French tannery Haas Degermann, which is now owned by Chanel and also supplies leather to some of the big names in the fashion world, such as Hermès.

More than 160 steps to create a pair of Paraboots

Inside the factory, it becomes clear what it means to continue making shoes in this way. From cutting and sewing to assembly, sole application, and finishing, each pair passes through a long line of hands and workstations before leaving the factory.

– It’s more than 150, 160 different steps to produce the shoes. It’s not automatic. It’s a manual job. It’s handmade. That’s the magic also.

This is also an explanation of why the factory and the people who work here are so important to Paraboot. Keeping production in the region is not just about where a label can say the shoe is made. The knowledge resides with the people who carry out the tasks, and it must be passed on for the manufacturing to continue in the same way.

When Eric is asked how production will change in the future, the answer is therefore almost defiantly simple:

– We won’t change anything. We will keep the job as it was done four generations ago. That’s it, easy. It seems easy. It’s not.

Every shoe tells a story

The Paraboot shoes have been worn by several generations and have traversed professions, social groups, and wardrobes, making them a significant part of France's history when it comes to footwear. Eric notes that Paraboot may not always be the best at telling stories:

– We are not super good to tell stories, but as soon as we start to tell stories, these are real stories.

But here, Eric is partially mistaken. For they can indeed tell stories.

– A few weeks ago, a French guy brought back his grandfather’s shoes. His grandfather passed away and he said, “Okay, I took the shoes as a souvenir. I want to resole it, please.” It’s a super sentimental value. And now this guy is wearing the shoes. It’s just crazy.

It’s a story that also says something about Paraboot’s status in its home country. The same models can be found on people whose lives look completely different.

– In France you can find these shoes on people who are lawyers, students, people who are working in business, banking, people who are making wine. So it’s cross-generational, men and women. I think Paraboot is a universal brand speaking to everybody.

Perhaps part of the explanation lies right there. A shoe that can be resoled time and again changes alongside the one who wears it. Scuffs, creases, and wear aren’t necessarily reasons to replace the shoe, but rather marks of its history.

– You start to make stories with your own shoes and it’s a long relationship with your shoes. You can repair a pair of Paraboot shoes during your entire life. If you take care of your shoes, you will keep it for life, sure.

Do you have a favourite pair of Paraboot shoes?

– Michael is for sure one of my favorites, but Avoria also is one of my favorites. Kind of mountain spirit shoes, super heritage and old-school style. I like this.

Collaboration without compromise

While Paraboot firmly upholds its classic models, the brand has in recent years opened the door for others to interpret them. Over the years, this has resulted in collaborations with names such as Hermès, Maison Kitsuné, and Thierry Mugler.

For a company whose strength largely lies in not changing its products, collaborations may seem like a contradiction. Eric sees them rather as a way to add something new and creative without altering the very foundation.

– We are a heritage brand. We are making the same shoes for more than 100 years now. As soon as you start to collaborate with people, then you inject creativity.

Paraboot doesn’t need collaborations to constantly reinvent new models. On the contrary. Michael will still be Michael. The collaborations instead become a way to let others interpret a design language that is already established, through new materials, colors, and contexts. The heritage range continues to form the core of the business.

 Who knows, maybe we could do a collaboration together?

– Why not? Why not? We keep the same way and the same strategy. 

Back to the mountains

When we leave the factory, the mountains are still there. During our visit to Isère, Paraboot's strong connection to the place also resonates beyond the factory walls. In the food we are served, where ingredients from the region take center stage, in the people we meet, and in the pride of the area around Saint-Jean-de-Moirans.

The Paraboot team also takes us further up into the mountains, to Grande Chartreuse, the secluded monastery of the Carthusian order. The road there winds through a landscape that feels far removed from both Paris and the international fashion scene where Paraboot has today found its rightful place.

Grande Chartreuse, the secluded mother monastery of the Carthusian order with the mountains beyond.

Paraboot har tagit sig från arbetsskor för traktens bönder till garderober i Paris, Tokyo, Seoul och New York, utan att lämna platsen där allt började. Och nu förstår vi varför Eric valde Avoriaz som en av sina favoritskor: “mountain spirit shoes, super heritage and old-school style.” Bergen är inte bara fonden bakom fabriken. De är en del av Paraboots historia – och av skorna som fortfarande tillverkas här.