ESQUIVEL is a modern American workshop specializing in rare handcrafted leather shoes and accessories.
At Esquivel, we have always created our products with our hands, one at a time - no mass production - to ensure that that every item we make is unique and special. This dedication to craftsmanship and individuality is at the core of our company, and the idea of utility and function is the hallmark of every Esquivel product. Our overriding goal is to create a unique, one-of-kind experience for every customer.
Truly a labor of love, Esquivel footwear is designed to carry you through your day in comfort and style. Crafted with leathers that are sourced from the best tanneries in the world. Esquivel marries luxe materials with edgy silhouettes in unusual, hand-burnished color combinations that seek to reinvent tradition for the 21st century and create a new brand of heritage.
GEORGE ESQUIVEL
George Esquivel has been designing high-end custom made shoes since 1994. The Los Angeles native, who learned his craft the old-fashioned way (by apprenticing to a local cobbler), cites musicians and the music they create as one his main inspiration for his namesake collection.
An American success story in the truest sense of the word, George overcame a hardscrabble childhood (his father was a convicted drug addict) and pulled himself up by his bootstraps, figuratively and literally, to found the company that bears his name.
“I think that what I experienced growing up pushed me in the direction of shoes,” he says. “Probably the main factor was the fact that I never had really cool or quality shoes. With my father always in and out of jail and spending all his money on drugs, we could never afford cool shoes. We always wore the fakes. I remember being very envious of the kids that had the cool shoes.”
Today, George makes the coolest shoes around, and his talent and tenacity have been rewarded with a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nomination and a consultancy at Fratelli Rossetti.
But it’s his ongoing dedication to craftsmanship that really sets George Esquivel - and his creations – apart.
“I’m inspired when clean lines, rugged textures and unexpected colors come together to form the perfect shoe - and I love sharing this passion with my clients,” says George. “And I really enjoy the craft and the process. If you look at my shoes, you might like the style, but truly what is behind it is the craft of the burnishing, the craft of the leathers and the textures coming together. So for me, it’s always about the craft.”