An interview with Marc Hare

NB - For our readers that haven’t met Mr Hare yet, can you give us a quick summary of your philosophy on shoes?

MH - There are not enough shoes in the world that I like. So I decided to do something about it.

NB - Your background before starting up Mr Hare included owning a surf shop and a fashion boutique in Notting Hill; what inspired you to move into shoes?

MH - I used to sell surfboards, everyone of them handcrafted and unique. A surfboard is all about the shape and ...

the tiny details that make this one loose and that one gun down the line really fast or the other one really forgiving. I have always been fascinated by micro details and always obsessed by how shoes complete an outfit.

I was in a very fortunate position recently where I lost my job as a Marketing Director at a Swedish fashion house. Two days later I dislocated my left knee playing football and a couple of months after that my marriage faded to nothing. It isn’t often that your entire slate wipes itself clean like that. I had carte blanche to do whatever I wanted. I decided it was going to be men’s shoes.

NB - In your opinion, what’s the difference between a really good pair of shoes and a perfect pair?

MH - In my opinion there is no such thing as a perfect pair of shoes. I used to design outdoor gear for Karrimor. Two and three-layer Gore-tex. Polartec fleece. And in the same way you need a certain layering set up for certain conditions: you need certain shoes for certain situations.

I treat my shoes like state alterants. If I am feeling like killing everyone dead I will rock something from my new collection. If I am feeling energetic and need to get a lot done in a day I reach for my Airforce Ones. If I want to move anonymously I will reach for my Chuck Taylor’s. If I feel troublesome, I usually wear Church’s. I guess a really good pair of shoes has the ability to be perfect when called upon to be.

NB - Personally, I’ve got tremendous amount of respect for how you just jumped in and started up Mr Hare. What is one thing that you wish you’d known before you kicked this off?

MH - I wish I had known years ago how much fun it would be. Everyday I get an email from someone, somewhere in the world who has either bought a pair of my shoes or wants to. I only ever used to get that many emails from Viagra dealers.

I have just discovered the joy of bartering. This weekend I swapped a pair of shoes for tickets to see Arsenal v Blackburn at the Emirates. 6-2. Vermaelan, Van Persie, Arshavin, Fabregas, Theo and Bendtner. Six goals, six scorers. How do you put a price on seeing something like that? There’s only one Arsene Wenger!

NB - You’ve told me that the biggest inspiration for your second collection came from different leathers and materials. Can you tell us the story of your favourite leather? Where did it come from and how did you find it?

MH - We all age, have amazing stories that correlate with all the years that have passed. 18-year-old models look incredible but don’t generally have a lot to say. Chesterfield sofas, cricket bats and Lauren Hutton are all much better company and a marvel to look at. So I wanted to make some shoes that were intended to just age beautifully. I explained this to the guys at the factory and said I liked the way that the vegetan leather on Louis Vuitton bags aged like wood and did they know where I could get that same leather. They walked me over to the window and pointed at a big industrial tannery across the way and said, “it comes from there”.

NB - For your first collection, you re-interpreted a few classic styles. I think the Mr Thompson button boot is my favourite. Second place goes to Mr Genet, the slip-on with six tassels a side (for the readers, trust me it works). What style are you most aching to sink your teeth into in the future?

MH - Man heels obsess me right now. Everything from Sarkozy through to Prince. My SS2010 Hot Steppers collection has allowed me to get all that classic men’s shoe stuff out of my system. Very few people have heard of my brand so far and many fewer own a pair of my shoes. While the world is discovering me, I feel I have done enough for conservative shoeists. Now I want to just push the envelope.

I love the way girls can collect shoes every season that are just for that moment in time and inspired by such randomness. I want man shoes that operate in the same way. Serious Bobby dazzlers that you have to be half-feminine to be man enough to wear.

NB - What are your thoughts on the shoe industry as a whole? You once mentioned to me that after doing your first collection, you were surprised there weren’t more great shoes in the market. What did you mean by that?

MH - For my blog, I look at a lot of shoes. I look for other people whose shoes inspire me. I think the proportion of important or interesting shoes for men is about 0.0001% of the shoes in the world. I think that percentage should be higher. All my real shoe dogs know what I’m saying.

NB - At the moment, all your shoes are made with Blake construction in Italy. Will that remain your focus? Or are there other regions and construction techniques you’d like to try out?

MH - You know how famous chefs get to make programmes where they travel round the world learning new dishes? I want to make Mr Hare shoes in all the different constructions in all the different shoe regions of the world. I don’t think I can truly call my self a shoe man until I have done this. Besides, a lot of shoe regions also happen to be close to some really good surf, food, wine and golf. I fucking love my job.

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