H?Katsukawa from Tokyo A/W 2012-13 |

As you may remember, H?Katsukawa’s handmade shoes already appeared in two previous posts on this site. So let’s close the Japanese thread that started on Saturday looking at H?Katsukawa’s Autumn/Winter 2012-13 collection.

Launched six years ago by footwear designer and shoe enthusiast Eiichi Katsukawa - a graduate of Northampton’s Tresham Institute with an internship at Canadian tailor and shoemaker Paul Harnden in Brighton – the brand regularly produces two menswear collections a year, mainly based on two principles, craftsmanship and fun.

Katsukawa's new collection features his trademark brogues and boots in distressed "Nibe" leather (reversed cowhide) and further designs based on a new round-toe silhouette.

“I wanted a new shape and based my research on four elements – material, shape, pattern and style,” Katsukawa told me when I met him during the Pitti fair in January. “The result of my new research is classic, but it’s based on a combination of two colours and two tones to add as usual some fun to my shoes.”

Will Katsukawa ever do women’s shoes? Who knows. In the meantime, his fans will be happy to hear he’s currently sold also at Dover Street Market Ginza and L'Eclaireur in Paris where he was also elected dealer of the Spring/Summer 2012 season.