When our recent London Cloth Company collaboration is brought up in Vivobarefoot HQ conversation, you can usually expect to hear the question ‘Have you met Daniel?'.
The energy and vision of London Cloth Company founder, Daniel Harris, has propelled bespoke British woven cloth to the heart of the capital’s textile industry. Under the watchful eye of Flo Rider the cat, London’s first micro-mill specialises in producing quality woven cloth, particularly woollens, using an ever-expanding range of carefully restored looms dating back to the 1870’s.
It all began with the restoration of a rusting loom rescued from a barn in rural Wales. Despite no prior training or knowledge, Daniel’s romantic vision and unfettered devotion led him to self-teach all the intricacies of this time-honoured machine, and his collection has been growing ever since.
From foot-peddled Hattersleys to double width industrial power looms, London Cloth Company’s collection of machines allows them to produce an array of traditional textiles, whilst specializing in the art of weaving true rope-dyed indigo fabrics.
The antithesis of mass production. London Cloth Company weave fabrics to order, using quality British wool – the perfect partner to the Vivobarefoot Handcut Collection, a range of shoes traditionally crafted in Portugal. After working closely with Daniel to understand what was on offer, we selected an indigo-dyed herringbone cotton to pair with our classic Opanka Slip, resulting in a premium shoe with design integrity down to the very last stitch.
