C R A F T E D W I T H E M O T I O N

Experience the ease of life – dance for joy, hop and jump! It is like walking bare-footed in a beautiful meadow, writes a customer about the irresistible experience with Vabene shoes. When the unique comfort of wearing hand-crafted shoes is combined with the love for an attractive Italian design, a dimension in fashion concepts is opened for all those who buy Vabene shoes for the first time, exclaims an expert in our trade. Appreciation of our international clientele challenges us to hold firm to the Vabene philosophy without compromise: Quality – must be seen and felt. Join us on a journey into the sensuous world of Vabene!

Comfort - "WALKING IN A MEADOW"

Bernadette Kunz
Owner of a physiotherapy centre
he foot is the foundation of our entire body; optimal body-posture begins right here. A good pair of shoes provides support without squeezing the feet. As a physiotherapist, I recommend Vabene shoes as its soft design provides comfort to joints, and the perfect roll of characteristics stimulate blood circulation and promote muscle building. Your feet will be less tired and support your spine positively. Vabene shoes are good for your back. They enhance your physical and psychological well being. Even a layperson will recognize its benefits. I myself enjoy wearing Vabene shoes; they are so soft and comfortable without a sign of compromise on quality foot support. It is like walking bare-feet in a beautiful meadow. You might even forget to take your shoes off at night!

Leonardo da Vinci described the foot as a piece of art made up of 26 bones, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles. Today, the foot needs better support than ever as our lives are lived in a jungle of paved roads and concrete, where soft forest paths are but a luxury. Vabene shoes provide comfortable support – it is like walking on a cloud! This experience is derived from applying anatomical concepts and orthotic techniques, resulting in a high-quality footbed. Many years of research and development have led to this Vabene business secret. Technical savvy and highest production controls are an integral part to achieve ultimate comfort. Soft calfskin allows active breathing, provides freedom and promotes wellbeing. Dance through the day on both feet – enjoy life step by step.

Quality - A NEW DIMENSION IN FASHION CONCEPTS

Stephan Schmutz
Owner of shoe retail stores Thun/Bern
I must be able to stand fully behind a product I sell. My philosophy of sales demands a winning quality. This I have found in Vabene shoes! Made from the highest quality leather, these shoes offer beauty and appeal. Some customers, who bought their shoes primarily for the attractive design, have then discovered the high comfort level of handcrafted Vabene shoes. It is like opening a new dimension in fashion concepts for such clients. In sales, I often hear that Vabene customers enjoy wearing their comfort shoes and refuse to buy another brand. We are receiving so many positive comments. Vabene shoes represent simplicity and truth. They are in good demand. The company provides first-class service and builds strategic partnerships with its retailers. Vabene will have a growing potential in the market place.

Design - NO VABENESHOES – NO WEDDING!

Anne Orlow
Customer Zürich
For my wedding, on the most beautiful day of my life, I shall be wearing Vabene shoes. We shall walk, stand around and dance! All this I want to experience without tired feet. I want to feel free. Vabene shoe designs match this event perfectly as for me it represents joy and happiness. The shoes look young, modern, witty and even a bit cheeky. I love nice and functional things. Understand that I will not suffer for the sake of beauty or feel uncomfortable just to be fashionable. I appreciate that Vabene shoes are worn very comfortably from the beginning, but they also look attractive, artful and elegant. Otherwise I would not wear them. It is simply said: I love myself in wearing Vabene shoes and I feel great!
Young, imaginative and feminine - this is the typical Vabene look. For each season, our in-house designer creates a trendy collection in co-operation with a group of Italian stylists. The unmistakable designs reflect natural beauty and a warm silhouette. We avoid short-term fads and our models are timeless, beautiful and in demand for years. We design with purpose! Important functions are effectively integrated as fashionable details. It is no wonder that the Vabene line stands out in its well thought-over, artistic and simple elegance. Function and form are cleverly and beautifully defined. After all, shoes should fit feet and personality.

I KNOW WHICH FOOTWEAR LADIES CHOOSE

Priska Durrer
Vabene director of design Cham
The creation of a new shoe-model starts much before I sit down to work in my studio. Endless ideas bombard my thoughts. For each seasonal collection, over 200 designs are prepared. These patterns are used by a team of our professionals and myself to create the prototypes. For market testing, I will wear them all myself before we make a selection of about 40 designs. As a collection runs its course for a period of 6 months, my thoughts will have already turned to new ideas. My success is measured by an evergrowing worldwide Vabene customer base. A shoe collection demands a face and with its distinguished modern look, the Vabene line continues to capture its marketplace. As on my first day, my creativity continues to fascinate me. I am excited and love to be a part in creating a beautiful new shoe from the beginning to the end.
Each Vabene shoe requires over 150 steps of creative workmanship. You can count on getting a quality product, produced with highest personal integrity and passion. Vabene shoes are manufactured in our own factory under the strictest quality control. Being fully aware that hand-made products are becoming luxury more and more, we shall stick to our philosophy and commitment to hand-craft Vabene shoes. We are convinced that only this type of production, done with heart and character, does justice to a valuable product such as natural leather. As each piece of first-class leather is unique but different in its structure, each pair of shoes must be hand carved and cut from the same piece of hide in order to guarantee equal quality and appearance of the end product. Therefore, each pair of Vabene shoes is unique - as unique as our valid customers.

"An enthusiasm for shoes that are attractive and comfortable"

Our unique shoes call forth enthusiastic reactions - and what started with the production of short runs has now grown into an international success. Based in Cham in Central Switzerland, the Swiss brand VABENE has a loyal clientele that keeps growing all the time, both within Switzerland and abroad: it now exports to more than twenty countries on four continents of the globe. The crucial factor when the shoe studio was founded in the year 1989 was a vision - that of creating collections which would combine quality, fashion and comfort.

The undertaking paid off, and the company developed at headlong speed. Today VABENE has around 120 employees in Switzerland and at its dedicated plant in Portugal, and manufactures some 110,000 pairs of shoes a year. At the opposite extreme from hasty mass production, VABENE believes in quality that can be seen and felt.

Emotions for purity

In VABENE shoes the foot is embedded entirely by leather - from the heel to the tips of the toes. For this reason, the leather lining is especially important: Soft calfskin breathes actively and ensures pleasant, healthy conditions for your feet. It adapts completely naturally to the shape of each individual foot.

The unique VABENE feeling, which you simply have to experience on your own feet, results from love and care. The airy, elegant models of our spring collection are already waiting for you in your VABENE specialty shop.

Naturally beautiful

Even if times are changing, we shall remain true to our long-standing VABENE philosophy: “High quality shoes which are meant to be worn with pleasure for miles are manufactured only with the best of materials and with careful traditional hand craftsmanship. True quality is and will remain one of the joys of life”.
Leather, from the footbed through to the upper, only the best is good enough: At VABENE we personally select all the leather we use – only ten percent of a high quality calfskin production satisfies our high quality requirements.

Love & imagination

Comfort you have always dreamed of, along with the pleasant feeling of looking good – isn’t it natural to want to have both? VABENE shoes make this common denominator count in the most attractive way imaginable – inward value of the highest degree, coupled with elegant Italian design. Add to this imagination, individuality and an extreme love for detail, and this is independence that really makes an impression. Your own, very personal style – unmistakable.

The story of the Cadi buckle

Several models of VABENE sandals are equipped with a unique Cadi buckle:

The snap fastener transforms them into a decorative and an extremely convenient closure. Precision work is necessary for such delicate manufacturing.
The raw material consists of steel strips, 1.5 millimetre thick.
The buckles are manufactured in a multi-stage process which includes cutting and contouring work as well as embossing and stamping operations followed by careful degreasing.
The blank buckles are then deburred and finely polished. A special white-bronze bath makes the buckles suitable for wear by persons who are allergic to nickel. For ultimate protection, the surface is given a coat of varnish.
The snap fastener is mounted on the underside of the buckle. To ensure that they will function well from the first day of use, they are stretched slightly on a special machine.
The exclusive buckle: When you wear your shoes for the first time, you put the leather strap into the right hole to fit your feet. From then on, you simply release the snap fastener and the buckle opens. You will never have to take the strap out of the buckle again when you put your shoes on or take them off.

in sandals world you will find the new styles from Vabene