“WE have tried to be different,” says international designer Guy West of his footwear brand Jeffery West, reflecting on its milestone anniversary.
It is now 25 years since shoemakers and childhood friends Mark Jeffery and Guy West began what has turned into an iconic British footwear brand, donned by celebrities across the globe, including Mickey Rourke, Nick Cave, David Beckham and Rio Ferdinand to name but a few.
In other interesting recent projects the classic with a twist brand, has also been involved in designing shoes for the staff of Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck restaurant and designing shoes for bands like the Rival Sons.
But it all started from humble beginnings and a childhood friendship.
“We were childhood friends we met through our parents. Guy’s parents ran the Sywell Airport Motel and my parents went there for meals, so we have grown up from the age of 10 knowing each other,” said Mark, now aged 47, who grew up in Earls Barton.
“My father owned a shoe factory there, TC Partridge.
“When we started off we were getting rejects from my father’s factory and reviving end of the line shoes to sell on the market.
“Guy was working for a local footwear importer and we were selling onto the market and customising it a little bit.
“So that took off a bit and my father’s business closed in 1986, a year later, and we started Jeffery West.
“We were 21 and 22 at the time so we didn’t have enough money to open our own factory, so we used the spare capacity of other factories.
“The Northampton factories have always been more traditional in design and we wanted to do something different...we were in our early 20s and the city Oxford just wasn’t what we wanted to do.
“Our designs have always been fashionable but still using the traditional technique of the local industry.”
Although there is an element of the traditional in the shoes, it is clear as we are shown around the stock at Jeffery West in Northampton, that it has very much its own style, with subtle details, stamps and cuts making them stand out. Much of this is down to designer Guy, now aged 46, who heads up the creative side of the business.
“There’s quite a lot of Victorian influence and that sort of Edwardian steam pump look in our collection. They feel quite fashionable but in a traditional way.
“It is very elegant, an almost bespoke antique look.
“We have shoes which have the St John’s Cross Medal on them or we use a lot of different punctures and different shines. Like having skulls punched into the leathers.
“Then we have the famously pointed toe...it’s the details that make us stand out.
“But you can still see a lot of the traditional Northamptonshire footwear in our designs and I spend a lot of time in the Northampton Museum’s archives for research.
“In 25 years a lot of music from when we were growing up has found its way into the names and designs of shoes.
“We saw a lot of changes in music from the end of punk and disco to mod revival amongst others.
“The majority of our shoes will run for 10 years maybe more. The best seller is Moon named after Keith Moon.”
The brand has spread across the country and now the globe; it has stores in London, Leeds, Northampton and now in Taipei, as well as being stocked in numerous boutiques.
But its roots still come back to Northampton, where around 65 per cent of its shoes are manufactured and the brand remains involved in the local community.
“We have always tried to support the local industry as much as we can and we have been influenced by local history, “ said Guy.
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