Stockholm Super Trunk Show 2019 | Report Of A Fantastic Shoe Event

Another Year, Another Trunk Show!

Time flies so quickly. Can you believe 2020 is here in just 3 months? It feels like yesterday when I attended the Shoegazing Super Trunk Show in London in March and now the Stockholm version is behind us. This is actually marks my third time vising but first ever exhibiting!

And I am here to tell you all about it. In this Report from the Stockholm Super Trunk Show 2019 I will share with you my impressions and a lot of fascinating photos from each exhibitor. It is remarkable to see people flying all the way from Vietnam to show their love for shoes.

There is a lot of photo material and it was hard leaving out some photos but it would be impossible to have everything. So sit back, get a nice cup of strawberry tea near the window and enjoy this article.

Let’s go gentlemen!

Who Is Shoegazing?

Honestly, if you are a shoe lover you will know who Shoegazing is. The birth child of Jesper Ingevaldsson is a premier blog about fine shoes. It actually is a big inspiration behind the shift towards shoes for Misiu Academy. So what is the Super Trunk Show?

It is a bi-annual event that aims to bring people that love shoes together from all over the world. Jesper initially created the Stockholm Trunk Show which takes place in our city around the end of September. Soon after that fellow shoe enthusiast and author of The Shoe Snob Justin Fitzpatrick helped create a more global event. The London version takes place around March and is truly spectacular.

Apart from the difference in scale each show has its own agenda. The Stockholm Trunk Show’s aim is to promote and introduce lesser known or upcoming brands to the public while the London Show has a big pool of the biggest names in shoemaking.

The show is a good chance for people to meet brands, make some smart purchases but also attend a few special events. Some of them involve shoemaking contests, live patinas, shoe shining and even a second hand market.

List Of Exhibitors

Here’s a quick overview of what you should expect to read about in this article:

• The Venue – Scandic Anglais
• ZEB Shoes/The Noble Shoe
• Granqvist Sweden
• Sons of Henrey
• Paul Brunngård
• Skomaker Dagestad
• CNES Shoemaker
• Blugiallo MTM
• J.Hopenstand
• Skolyx/TLB Mallorca
• Magic Mike Patina
• Second Hand Market
• Shoe Shine Contest

Quite a handful right? Let us not waste time then.

Scandic Anglais | A Familiar Venue

Nothing really changed from last year’s event. The event location was the glamorous Scandic Anglais Hotel in a popular district of Stockholm called Östermalm. On the first exhibition floor you would enter the main floor, while outside was the second hand market, the stage for the shine contest and a refreshment vendor.

For the scale of the event the room has adequate space and can look busy without feeling overcrowded. I have no complains apart from the fact that the light was yellow and too strong in some areas. This makes clear photography rather challenging sometimes.

ZEB Shoes | The Noble Shoe

You live under a rock or something?! Apart from Misiu Academy I also run The Noble Shoe, an online shop where I sell Carlos Santos Shoes. Back in the day I wrote about ZEB Shoes in my popular Best Shoe Brands Guide. Well, not I am a partner for my friend Bojan in Sweden!

He is a shoe enthusiast and like me can talk about them for hours. In a small workshop in Croatia he creates Made To Measure shoes of the highest quality. For the show he prepared a dozen different boots for customers all over the world. We mostly work with Shell Cordovan and Horsehide but of course calf, grain and suede is an option. It never ceases to amaze me how people customize their shoes with multiple colors and features. There was a boot in particular with a car tire sole. It looked like something conjured out formula one.

Since the show is for new and upcoming brands, I was not able to have a full display of Carlos Santos shoes. I did have 4-5 samples on the table at times and a tablet with my online selection though. It is great to see that some of you came to me and actually knew who I am. Thank you so much!

Lastly, we also manufacture Premium Belts in a variety of colors and leathers.

People showed a lot of interest in the MTM process and a few will have a new pair of shoes in the near future. I was also able to raise awareness about my shop which is very important in the local community. I would say it was a successful day and I am glad I had the help of Bojan’s wife behind the counter.

Granqvist Sweden

Onto my favorite accessories maker, Granqvist. If you see me with a pocket square, it probably comes from there. Henrik Granqvist is the man behind the small brand that specializes in ties, bow-ties and pocket squares.

Their ties and pocket squares in particular are exquisite with a vintage feel and Italian fabrics. The prices are very good for the quality and the variety simply endless. If you visit the show you also get a nice 20% discount.

Henrik actually told me they are starting a pilot program for MTM shirts which I am excited to see. Check them out because they are truly passionate people there!

Sons Of Henrey

A few months ago I wrote about Sons of Henrey in the monthly newsletter. A small, new brand with shoes made in Spain. The collection was a bit basic and safe, but it was the pleasant surprise of the show for me. The owner reminds me of myself actually. Tom is the sole owner and runs the business which is remarkable since he handles everything. His story is very inspiring and at the age of 28 he has the world at his feet. I am very grateful for our talks and all the tips I got. Might as well mention that he comes from Antwerp in the Flemish part of Belgium.

The most prominent part of his collection was the George split-toes. I enjoy the look very much and it reminds me of some high end models especially in hatch grain.

Not only that but in the corner one could find the incredible shoemaking book by László Vass.

If I remember correctly there was a 15% discount on all shoes during the Trunk Show. The shoes generally sell for about 350-375 Euros.

Paul Brunngård

Yet another Swedish brand albeit one that focuses in shoe care products. Paul Brunngård has a fancy line of shoe care with the name “Shoe Shame” and just about everything you would need to clean your shoes.

From horsehair brushes to shoe polish and shoe trees, you will find something that suits your needs.

Not much else to say apart from the fact that the booth owner is a really friendly and nice guy! I might even check Paul Brunngård for some supplies for my own shop.

Skomaker Dagestad Norway

Finally I got to meet Skomaker Dagestad which is a Norwegian shop selling very high end brands. You can find shoes from Loake up to Edward Green, Red Wing and even Alden. The latter is a very rare thing in Europe.

Their three main selling points in the Stockholm Super Trunk Show 2019 were shoes from Miyagi Kogyo, the newly launched RTW line of Foster & Son and their own in house brand. A surprise visit by Foster & Son was a great opportunity to meet Andrew Murphy who is the Sales Manager. Very friendly bloke with a wonderful personality and sense of style.

Main features of those shoes include close channel soles with an extreme fiddleback waist and a very high quality construction. It fascinates me that their grain boot is a carbon copy of the Galway.

The same goes for the in-house brand which they make in Japan if I remember right. Japanese are some of the best in the world after all.

Lastly, Miyagi Kogyo which I do not have much experience with. Nice models with prominent split toes and elegant long design. I believe pictures speak more than words!

Before I change topic I should mention that I finally got to meet Christian Vingsand and his girlfriend Elisabeth. He runs C.G. Vingsand Shoeshine Trondheim and does some incredible shining work. Give him a follow on Instagram.

CNES Shoemaker

All the way from Vietnam to Stockholm. Unbelievable how shoes bring people together. A team of four representatives including the factory manager of CNES. Alan, Alvin, Alicia and Tien (I think I wrote this wrong or I watch too much Dragon Ball) were super friendly people with a genuine passion about shoes.

The booth was probably the most prominent with a huge selection of shoes. Most of them Goodyear Welted however there is a Blake line, handwelted and even cordovan shoes for very competitive prices. Starting from around 210 Euros up to 500 for Shell Cordovan with the desire to penetrate the European market.

And how could they not with such excellent options. Their patina work is beautiful and it was lovely to see the insides of a shoe. It really gives you a whole new perspective about shoemaking. Their experience allows them to create very special shoes such as a seamless wholecut.

For me this is a very interesting brand and one to keep an eye on in the future especially since I want to expand the selection for The Noble Shoe.

Blugiallo MTM

Made To Measure services are sprouting up everywhere these days. Blugiallo is a Swedish company which has a very nice atelier in Stockholm. It feels airy and fresh.

You can sew your own suit there with a variety of measurements and customizations. Generally made to measure in Stockholm is rather expensive but Blugiallo has very competitive pricing. Possibly the best prices right after Suitsupply.

Oh my they have this gorgeous green windowpane check fabric which I would totally lust over if I did not already have one. The booth was rather small with a small table with sample fabrics and some shirts. I must say that the kid at the booth was very friendly!

In addition to those services they have an awesome about us section (albeit in Swedish) and some RTW pieces.

J.Hopenstand

Another exhibitor from the London Trunk Show was J.Hopenstand. They are a luxury, premium belt maker from Switzerland which of course also offers other small leather goods.

I did not spend much time in the booth since I already met them before but their selection is superb. Something you should expect anyways when a belt costs 500 Euros.

I must admit though that this is one of the best pictures I took and it has nothing to do with shoes…

Skolyx & TLB Mallorca

What more is there to write about Skolyx. Taking Sweden by storm with affordable, quality shoes of their own brand along with Yanko and TLB Mallorca.

You know how highly I think of the latter and you should revisit my Review of their Artista model. Extremely high construction quality for a great price and now a MTO service.

Skolyx also has some really nice sneakers that are very affordable. I might grab a suede pair for myself in the near future.

Jesper also works in Skolyx and that should say a lot. The owner is pretty nice and always a pleasure to talk to him.

Magic Mike Patina

Colors galore! After 2 failed attempts I finally got to meet Michael Håkansson. He is the Swedish Shoe Shine Champion of 2018 and a master at recoloring shoes. The patinas he creates are rich and unique and you could watch him work in his station.

Behind him a few finished samples brightened the scene with their vibrancy I especially liked a certain purple shoe. Please check out more of his work here.

He also got to give a small seminar on hand painting shoes but I could not leave my booth for long unfortunately.

Second Hand Shoe Market

Last year’s event introduced the second hand shoe market. I actually picked up my favorite sneakers there which is a comfortable pair of sneakers from none other than Carlos Santos.

This year the selection seemed to be smaller but after consulting with Jesper it was actually similar to last year. It could be that it was more spread out. Nonetheless I saw someone pick up a Carlos Santos Field Boot for half price and there was a Saint Crispin’s double monk for 200 Euros. It was a size 40 though and I could not chop my foot so much. To put this in perspective they would probably cost 1200-1500 Euros new.

Lighting in that section is not really great so forgive the terrible picture.

Shoe Shining Competition

There is no Shoegazing Trunk Show without a proper shoe shine contest. The three finalists get a short amount of time to shine a pair of Loake shoes and the winner gets 3000 Swedish Crowns as a prize and a pair of shoes.

I did not watch this too much unfortunately as I was in my booth however I can report that Johan Olsson won the competition.

Here’s a pic shamelessly borrowed by Daniel of Datinventory who I met during the dinner afterwards. He is a very pleasant guy with some awesome Antonio Meccariello burgundy shoes. Rumor says he bought the entire Oscar Jacobson catalog in the past.

That’s All Folks!

Wow, that was a lot of information and certainly a lot of pictures. I must say it feels quite differently to be behind the counter rather than just visiting. People started coming in around 10:30 – 11:00 am and the peak time was 13:00 until maybe 15:00. After that it was much more quiet and after packing there was a dinner at the restaurant in the locale.

Once more the chance to witness such craftsmanship and variety is extraordinary and I urge you to visit a trunk show in the future. You will absorb so much information even if you are a veteran. Witnessing the inside of a shoe rather than seeing just pictures or a live demonstration of patina work is amazing and engrossing.

Stockholm Super Trunk Show 2019 – A Resounding Success

The title says it all really! Very happy to be a part of this and a huge thank you to all of you that visited. I look forward to attending the London Show in 2020 now. I think I can conclude that this was a fantastic opportunity and successful day for me.

This brings us to the end of the “Stockholm Super Trunk 2019 Report” and I hope you enjoy going through it. Until next week, I thank you for supporting Misiu Academy by Subscribing or my small passion project at The Noble Shoe. You are all awesome.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Thank you for reading,

Kostas Mandilaris,
Misiu Academy