He has just arrived from the inauguration of the first of the ten stores that will open this year in the Philippines, and after long hours of travel, he receives us at his office in Girona, where the Toni Pons central store is also located. “Does it bother you that I’m here?” asks Jordi Pons, referring to his dog Beggi, who has a privileged place by his side and walks comfortably through the corridors that lead to warehouses where boxes and boxes of espardenyes from the company that His grandfather Antoni Pons Parramon founded it in 1946. Jordi Pons has led the historic espadrille company since 2016, which last year manufactured approximately one million pairs and is in full international expansion.
Young but with a desire to grow and with the DNA imbued with a brand with 77 years of experience, Jordi Pons wears yellow espadrilles and seems comfortable in this environment. “Since I was little I used to visit him with my father,” he confesses. He represents the third generation of Toni Pons, the firm of modest origin that began producing jute espadrilles and rubber booties in the town of Osor (Girona) and that now sees no limits.
“We have a multi-sector partner who has made a very strong commitment to our brand. By 2024 we want to continue with a plan almost similar to this year, that is, we plan to open another 10-15 more stores in the best locations in Manila and the Philippines”, says Jordi Pons.
“The Philippines is a country with which we have three centuries of shared history and in which there is some deep roots in Spanish culture and, obviously, with the jute espadrille, which is our flagship shoe, there are many assets for the project to be a success, such as the climate that allows espadrilles to be worn all year round and more and more these emerging economies want to have products or brands like Toni Pons, designed by hand and manufactured in Spain”, points out Jordi Pons.
But beyond the Philippines, the Catalan brand also has openings in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa on its roadmap. Without forgetting its recent openings in the national market in cities like Barcelona and Marbella.
The magnetism possessed by espadrilles or espardenyes, also known as espadrilles outside the Spanish borders, not only causes the Philippines to surrender to this humble and traditional shoe. Already in the thirties, avant-garde environments in Paris used it as a complement to beachwear on the Riviera, as Margarita Rivière documents in her book Dictionary of Fashion.
This shoe made of canvas with an esparto sole and with manual stitching has been worn by peasants, royals and celebrities alike and, of course, has been a traditional part of regional dances such as the sardana. Salvador Dalí and García Lorca walked along the beaches of Portlligat in their “embetadas”, one of the models of the Castañer brand, another of the emblematic Catalan firms in the sector, and which still has this bestseller in its sales portfolio.
Surrendering to espadrilles is not difficult, especially since Castañer, in collaboration with Yves Saint Laurent, wedged a model in red satin, with gold satin ribbons and gold threads mixed with jute spirals. It was what would now be said to be a trending topic! Since then, throughout history we have seen espadrilles on the feet of Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Kate Middleton, Queen Letizia or the current US First Lady, Jill Biden.
And it is that the espardenyes boom, far from being forgotten, each season transcends the tyranny of trends and shines again as a summer wardrobe staple. New models coexist with timeless classics. Just take a look at the 2023 collections, for example by Castañer, the brand founded in 1927 in Banyoles by Luis Castañer and his cousin Tomás Serra, which has created an interpretation of its star model, Carina, in which new colors and natural dyes in the canvas such as flat pink, light denim or olive green. In another model like the Gretel they have added crochet with an interesting color range that is very fashionable.
While in Toni Pons metallic with jute is mixed in a variety of designs, in addition to having another range of colors such as olive green, earth tones, linens or washes.
There is no doubt that espardenyes still have a long life! But… What is the secret to renovating such a classic shoe without losing its essence? “Our models are handmade and have a lot of history, since we have been using the same braiding machines since 1927 and that makes our espadrilles a timeless classic that evolves without ever losing its essence”, answers Rafa Castañer, Castañer’s soul manager.
The secret of Castañer’s timelessness, as summarized by Rafa, lies in the passion for what they do and that transcends borders: to this day the family continues to manufacture slow-made espadrilles in Spain, without losing its artisan essence, with natural materials from faithful proximity to the brand identity. “It is what motivates us for the present and the future” concludes Rafa Castañer.
Not in vain the firm is an emblem in the world. In 2022 it invoiced 24 million euros. Italy, the United States, France and Spain are its main markets, although it also has more than 30 stores and 100 points of sale around the world, including Miami, the Dominican Republic, Milan and Paris. “And there will be more openings. We like to grow slowly but surely”, Rafa Castañer qualifies.
The evolution of this footwear for Toni Pons has always been a challenge, without neglecting the unique manufacturing process of each espadrille, the way it was done centuries ago. For example, “we keep sewing by hand, and it is our differential feature. Tradition is maintained in this process that joins the upper to the sole by manual sewing. Also, as this footwear is constantly evolving and has gone from being a very basic product to a fashionable one, we try to offer a range of possibilities, models, materials, etc. that adapt to the needs of each person, we even have a collection for brides ”, says Jordi Pons.
More than 80% of the Toni Pons catalog is made with materials of natural origin. Although the great protagonist of their summer collections is jute, they also use certified cotton, linen or leather. Mariona Pérez, product manager at Toni Pons, reveals how innovation adapts to this classic product: “when we make wedges, many shoes are lined with jute but have suro (cork) inside, we do it because we try not to weigh each wedge more of 400 grams, since it could give foot problems and it would be tiring to walk with so much weight all day”, Pérez details while we tour the “pisoteca”, as they call a room full of samples of floors (heels), which in other Words is like a kind of library in which you can basically find all the floors that have been part of any design of the brand and to which they turn if they ever have to reinterpret a model.
In this space in which it seems that each wedge is the same, Pérez shows us that there is a lot of difference between them. At Toni Pons the priority is comfort and, for example, in recent years they have added foam to the insoles of their espadrilles, a kind of sponge that is usually between 4-5 millimeters thick and that softens and adds comfort to the shoe. tread. “We did it only with the women’s shoes because it also gives a point of elevation but after feedback from our representatives this year we also do it in the insoles of the men’s shoes, since they requested it,” Pérez clarifies.
This traditional footwear that brings freshness in summer continues to reinvent itself, and in fact not only is it conquering new markets, but there are more and more emerging companies that are betting on its manufacture, such as Gosto, a Barcelona brand founded in 2021 by Gerard Massó Basora under the premise of proximity, sustainability and social commitment.
“Every summer I would go with a friend to buy our summer espadrilles, they were the basic ones because we destroyed them in each of our adventures, as I got older I wanted some more sophisticated or ‘dressy’ ones and it was hard for me to find them because they weren’t sold out or they were exaggeratedly expensive, and I began to notice people’s feet and everyone was wearing them! That’s where my desire to start a business was born”, explains the CEO of the brand, which has specialized in men’s footwear.
Gosto has just launched its second seasonal collection inspired by unique experiences with friends, grandparents or idyllic summer moments and in which it has incorporated a unisex model. His designs are worked with white jute, which in principle is the best, they presume. “We mainly use split leather for the most premium models but also recycled cotton and polyester, linen or other high-quality recycled fibers”, Massó points out. In fact, Gosto already has physical stores in Barcelona, ??Andalusia and they hope to open soon in Madrid.
One step further, in Caravaca de la Cruz, Murcia, every year the Youte Festival is organized, a fair dedicated to jute footwear and accessories organized by Calzia, the Murcia Footwear Association “with the challenge of maintaining the artisan trades that they are the heart of our industry”, comments Salvador Gómez, its director. Gómez recognizes the prominence that espadrilles have in the fashion collections of recent years thanks to manufacturing companies, mostly family-owned, that have been able to add design, innovation and new sustainable materials to footwear characterized by braiding, sewn from natural fibers such as jute, hemp, esparto or raffia.
Brands such as Calzados Picón participate in Youte, whose espadrilles are even on Queen Letizia’s wish list, or Kanna Shoes, committed to creating a new totally green line, or Casteller España, which stands out for the sophistication of its designs. From the Caravaca region, around 100 million euros worth of footwear is exported annually, mostly espadrilles, and the employment generated by family SMEs in the sector is around two thousand people to meet the needs of France, Italy and the United States. Germany and the Benelux, its main markets.
“At Calzia we also support the promotion of our brands at international fairs, the latest actions being carried out in Australia, Mexico, the USA and Japan”, Gómez points out.
With platform, wedge or flat, espadrilles are a perfect canvas for designers’ creativity and symbolize the start of good weather, vacations, the beach, fun… Calzia insists. Large firms are clear about it and that is why they have not been able to resist this type of footwear. In 2017 Castañer surprised at the celebration of his 90th anniversary with a collaboration with the iconic shoemaker Manolo Blahnik, in a limited edition collection adding the famous stilettos so characteristic of the Spanish creator to the mythical espadrilles. A combination of height! and that it very well could be in Carrie Bradshaw’s closet.
Castañer has also recently joined forces with Diane Von Furstenberg, with thirteen new models in which the Belgian-American fashion designer’s unmistakable style is reflected in boldly feminine prints and colours. “We like to collaborate with big brands in which we share values. We look for complicity and for things to flow between the two brands, then it’s about fusing the DNA of the two. It always works and never fails”, says Rafa Castañer.
Beyond the emblematic firms of this unique product, other luxury brands have interpreted the espadrille, adapting it to their style such as Giorgio Armani or Jimmy Choo, Valentino, Maison Margiela, Dolce
