The Chelsea Cobbler
| Industry | Shoe manufacturer and retailer |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1967 |
| Founder | Richard Smith, Amanda Wilkins, George Macfarlane |
| Headquarters | London, England |
The Chelsea Cobbler (also sometimes Chelsea Cobbler) is a British shoe brand that was established in the 1960s in Chelsea.
Originally a high-fashion brand creating bespoke (made-to-measure) shoes, it was regularly featured in catwalk shows and the fashion press throughout the 1970s, when it also had a retail presence in New York City. It was twice chosen as part of the Dress of the Year ensemble displayed at the Fashion Museum, Bath.
Later the brand was absorbed into larger fashion companies. It was relaunched in 2009.
The Chelsea Cobbler's first store opened in April 1967 in Draycott Avenue, Chelsea. The founders were Richard Smith (also the shoe designer), Amanda Wilkins and George Macfarlane. Writing in The Times in 1968, Antony King-Deacon said the brand's shoes cost from 9 guineas and the founders were: "trying to get the public to accept well-made, rather expensive shoes". King-Deacon's comments were within an article bemoaning the poor quality of mass shoe production and describing the re-emergence of small and bespoke designers. This was in an era when the UK shoe market was dominated by lower-priced brands within the British Shoe Corporation; its stores accounted for an estimated 25 to 30 per cent of retail shoe sales in the UK at the end of the 1960s.
A year later, Prudence Glynn featured The Chelsea Cobbler, alongside Rayne, Moya Bowler, Ravel and Magli in an article about London's best specialist shoe shops. By this stage, the brand also had a shoe shop in Sackville Street in the West End. Also in 1969, Richard Smith of Chelsea Cobbler and Glen Carr of Norvic were chosen to show off the versatility of a new leather substitute created by British company Chloride Electrical Storage Company and known as Porvair. Smith's shoes were worn with men's clothing created by hip womenswear designer Clive Evans at the launch event.
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