If you have yet to see in-person a pair of leathers from the famed Parisian bottier Corthay, you must make a point to. Though not exactly in line with my more conservative wardrobe, one can nevertheless appreciate their collections of unmatched patina as fine works of art, in or out of the shoemaking world. I rubbernecked their Landmark Hong Kong window display on my inaugural visit, and I’ve since made a point to admire the gallery when I’m nearby.
Next month, I’ll pay special attention to Maison Corthay when two new models, the Brighton and Twist, arrive to Hong Kong. The pair are brothers of the same chord, as they draw their inspiration from the tastefully brazen youth of sixties rock ‘n’ roll.
The Brighton
As properly fancy this model seems, it carries a name of a time in music history I couldn’t believe until I saw: the Mods & Rockers Brawl of 1964. Brighton Beach was the capital theatre of the two-day war, and for being neatly ironed and decked, the Mods held their own. So there you have it. Holy shit, that actually happened:
The Twist
Before we get into it, note that this model is named after the style of song and dance that swept the early sixties, known as “yé-yé.” Between my aunt teaching everyone the dance to Chubby Checker during New Year’s Eve 1991, and later Megan Draper’s infamously uncomfortable gift of “Zou Bisou Bisou” to poor ol’ Don, I don’t know much of the genre. But in my short research, no one did it better than Anthony Richard, perched on a barstool while a harem of twisters went twisting to the left, twisting to the right, twisting behind glass paneling, twisting to Richard’s sweet tune:
Anthony Richard – Yaya twist by Salut-les-copains
