More Indians design right shoe fit online

As more and more Indians buy customised, made-to-order and well-fitting apparel online in the pandemic, the same trend has been observed in the accessories segment where people are now spending on customised shoes and other items in these social distancing times.

Ashish Prakash and Aayush Jindal who graduated from IIT Delhi started Toesmith in 2019 that allows customers to not only customise different parts of the shoe but also edit and upload their own design online. Based in Gurugram, Toesmith ships their products -- mostly in the range of Rs 1,000-Rs 3,000 -- across Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai and Kolkata.ToeSmith offers a 3D interactive design tool that allows people to customise different parts of a shoe individually.The customer can easily change five aspects of a shoe - the vamp (the front part of the shoe), the quarters (sides), the heel counter (backside), the binding (inner part), and the collar lining via the 3D design.

"There was a strong need for affordable customisable shoes. So, we thought let us give the consumer the option to customise and order their own shoes and that's how we started ToeSmith," Aayush said in recent media reports. At Lusso Lifestyle, which is India's first shoe brand for men with a vegan-luxury concept, its founder Bhaveen Doshi is busy devising new ways to help customise the shoes as per the client's needs and choices.

"We make the customer's experience hassle-free by having a walk-in store plus an online website that provides our entire collection which makes it convenient for the customers to choose the right pair for themselves. We also provide free exchanges and returns," Doshi told IANS.

"We also have WhatsApp services available where our designers help the client choose the right pair, suggest to them what will suit their attire and their comfort," he informed. The pandemic has been a difficult period for him."Since every cloud has a silver lining, we managed to take this pandemic in a positive way. It has given us time to work on our new product line that we recently launched," he said.

Their products range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 10,000. With the help of a few experts, Doshi uses a combination of high-grade Polyurethane and Rexin, which aesthetically looks as appealing as leather and has the same comfort level.

Mumbai-based Tiesta provides custom-made luxury footwear which can be ordered from the comfort of your home. "Make your pair as unique as you are! You choose your leather, your colour, your sole and your details. We'll handcraft your desired pair as per your specifications using the finest materials and bespoke workmanship," according to the company. Many people have a hard time finding the perfect pair of shoes. There are some who just can't seem to fit their feet in the standard-issue shoes from the retail stores, especially in these times.

The company offers customised solutions for tiny/narrow feet too.Yashaswini Dayama who is a singer-actor and worked in the movie "Dear Zindagi" uses Tiesta shoes. Another customer Shikhani had a hard time finding a shoe that fit her tiny feet.

"I got to know about Tiesta through a friend and they were surely a life saviour!," she posted on their website.The company says that all of the shoes are handmade by skilled artisans. "We make sure that the shoe that leaves our facility is of the most premium quality with proper comfort and luxury," according to Tiesta.