PHOTOS: The masterpieces of Hungarian shoemaker won prestigious award

The Hungarian master shoemaker from Miskolc, Attila Kovács won four gold medals at the Inter-Schuh-Service (ISS) international trade exhibition and competition in Wiesbaden, Germany.

Master cobbler Attila Kovács won four gold medals for his four shoes and the grand prize in the men’s shoe category with his unique pieces. He himself made every shoe, from the first designs, through the tailoring and sewing, to the final polishing, MTI reports.

In the event, forty-six master cobblers from sixteen countries competed in the competition with handmade footwear. Every pair of shoes had to be designed and crafted individually from every aspect.

“The renowned professional jury looks at the basic idea and its realisation, how well the message of the shoe comes across, how coherent the harmony is. They look at the techniques, the professionalism of the craftsmanship, the materials used and their novelty,” Kovács told InfoRádió.

“They also look at how well the materials meet the challenges of the times, and what technical innovation the creation brings. It is the sum of these that will win the gold medal or the grand prize, as in this case one of my male models,” explained the Hungarian winner.

The award-winning shoes

Master cobbler Kovács entered the competition with four shoes, two male and two female designs. One of them was made of alligator leather with a layered, hand-stitched sole and a horseshoe-shaped heel.

Photo: Attila Shoes Facebook

But the grand prize-winning piece was made of brown leather with a bark-like surface.

Photo: Attila Shoes Facebook

The Hungarian shoemaker carved a full-length tree on the leather sole and a tree branch on the other to further accentuate the theme. The heel’s leather layers were arranged in the same way as the grain of the wood. From the side, it looks like it has a knot in it. Finally, from the bottom, it looks like a wooden leg.

Photo: Attila Shoes Facebook

A blue women’s shoe was made with silver trimmings, with bubble patterns on the top and bottom of the shoe. The other shoe was made of a unique iridescent golden snakeskin. Hence, as the material moves in the light, it displays vibrating different colours.

Photo: Attila Shoes Facebook

The master cobbler believes that wearing handmade shoes is different to normal ones because they have “souls”.

Talking about special Hungarian products: even the “Orbán inflation” could be recognised as a Hungarikum.