Paraboot Shoes

In 1920, Rémy Richard purchased his first factory in order to gain better control of the manufacturing of sophisticated shoes with leather soles, as well as work boots with nailed wooden or leather soles. The name Paraboot was registered in 1927, from "Para" – a port in Amazonia, where the latex was exported from, and "boot" – the interesting new shoe he had discovered in the United States. Whilst negotiating with the Trade Tribunal in 1983, Michel Richard went to Italy in search of more efficient equipment. He sought to understand the methods of his most formidable Italian competitors. In the end, he met "WP lavori in corso", an Italian distributor of fashion garments, and negotiated a contract. The Italian stylists had decreed that men needed to get themselves a new look: gone were the dark suit, shirt and tie and black thin-soled moccasins. Instead they were to wear tweed jackets, corduroy trousers and polo-neck jumpers. All that was missing was a thick-soled shoe, made from decent materials. Although they had all they needed in Italy, they chose the Michael model by Paraboot. Located in Izeaux, Isère, Paraboot has become one of the last emblems of “Made in France” and “sewn shoes” in the world of footwear.