Jan Jansen

Biography:

Jan Jansen born on 1941 in Nijmegen, Netherlands is a legendary shoemaker in the history of haute couture. He is the son of a sales chief in a shoe factory. So probably he was fascinated in designing shoes from his childhood. And gradually he motivated his desire and interest in crafting shoes. Presently he is a maestro in designing different models of shoes.

He made his own place in the fashion world with his unique designs that combine elements of architecture and sculpture while ultimately providing the quality and comfort. His works are Sui generis (unique) that makes his collections not only sold all over the world but are also exhibited in the world-class museums.

Company: Jan Jansen established his own shoe firm in 1964, which became one of the international brands with the shops in and around Amsterdam. He is having an outlet in California too and presently his shoes are also available in United Kingdom.

In Field Since: In his teenage, this avant-garde designer paved his way towards erudition of shoe designing in 1962 in a handmade shoe firm in Italy.

Designs For: Jan Jansen designed the first handmade wedding shoe for Tony Polman. And thereafter in 1964 he designed a pair of half wedge shoes for Christian Dior in Paris.

Popularity: His world famous and timeless examples of shoe designs are the wooden clog of 1969, the Bamboo shoe of 1973, the Floating wedge of 1989, the Men’ shoe, the Zippy, the Unisex, the Bruno, the High heeled sneaker etc. These exclusive and fabulous shoe collections brought him to the peak level as a peerless shoe designer. This graven image had even received with numerous awards like; EMS Culture Award (1967), the Kho Liang le Award (1985), Emmy van Leersum Award (1989), the Grand Seigneur Award (1996), the BKVB Oeuvre Award (2002), the Max Heijmans Ring (2006) and many more.

Nationality: Dutch Shoe Designer.

What they say: Vos told Footwear News (4 December 2000), Jan Jansen is a rare person in the shoe business," "He works like an artist, designs every piece in his line, and doesn't follow fashions or care what other shoe design companies are producing. His shoe collections have a sense of humor and a carefree sense of style. And Jansen is one of the few true designers with enough diversity and creativity to fill a whole shop."