Order of the boots

In the first of our occasional series on how things are made, Philip Reynolds visits Le Chameau’s factory

By the time you read this, a few pairs of Le Chameau boots would have been made. This is no mean feat as the work carried out at the premium bootmaker’s factory in Casablanca is done by hand.

As with many items we use and wear, most of us probably don’t give much, if any, thought as to how they came about. In our busy lives that is understandable but it is worth stopping and reflecting for a moment how those stylish boots that you are sporting and which are keeping you dry and warm in the muddy countryside were made.

I recently visited Morocco and saw up close the skill and attention given to making a pair of Le Chameau boots at every stage of the production process.

Origins 

First, a little bit of history. Le Chameau was founded by Claude Chamot in 1927 and set up in a workshop behind an agricultural goods store in Cherbourg, Normandy. It was not long before the reputation of Monsieur Chamot’s boots for being able to deal with all that outdoor life could throw at them reached a wider public. The business grew hand in hand with its reputation and the company moved to bigger premises. In 1949, M Chamot decided to open a factory in Casablanca, Morocco, and train a team of maître bottiers, master bootmakers, in the company way.