Maestro was abroad serving Japanese customers. Instead his assistant showed me the small workshop situated on a 3rd floor in the center of Milan. Everything was like it should be. No shallow show, no fake luxury but a place dedicated to pure shoemaking by hand.
I hesitate to use the bespoke word, because as far as I understood the Italian speaking assistant they usually don’t make a trial shoe. They follow a proper path adjusting a partly made wood last accordning to the customer’s measurements and specifications, before they start working on the shoes. But, they go straight to complete the actual shoes, when the lasts are ready.
Personally, I don’t care much about that sinn as long as the shoemaker is a good shoemaker. I feel the expertise of a shoemaker is a better guarantee of a good result than one or two fittings. There will always be a step from a trial shoe to a finished shoe, which can introduce new fitting issues.
Is Angelo Comolli a good shoemaker? I don’t know, since I have no shoes from them, and I don’t know any, who has. Their workshop and shoes look promising, though.
Note that Angelo Comolli speaks Italian or French.
Source: The Journal of Style