Belieni success story
BELIENI is a US-based brand specialized in luxury sneakers, handmade in Italy. Realizing a gap in the market with a lack of variety and subtle styling of high-end men’s shoes, designer Belieni sought out to shake up the world of luxury footwear, especially for men with a larger step.
The story
Challenge
“I started BELIENI because I saw a lack of variety in men’s luxury sneakers, specifically for larger foot sizes. So I began the process of coming up with a unique, versatile design with subtle detailing, able to be dressed up or down if needed, and created the exquisite design cues in each Calibre shoe.”
-Belieni Stevens, US
Outcome
The Calibre high-top sneakers, handcrafted in high quality suede and nappa with copper-plated hardware and rubber soles in 4 colours – Black, White, Wine Red, and Steel Blue, have since garnered much attention. More colourways, a women’s line, and low-top designs are in the making.
Design
Belieni provided ISM with his creative concepts and drafted sketches. ISM Design Team created the final production-ready tech packs for 4 options of the Calibre sneakers and finalized the complex materials construction.
Prototyping & Sampling
After three iterations to incorporate the materials perfectly, ISM created the final prototypes consisting of quilted and woven leathers, specially-sourced rubber soles, copper-plated hardware with specific logo details.
Packaging
Packaging consists of a brushed cotton dust bag and matte black shoe box with plated logos. With the broad shoe size runs, 2 types of boxes were made for EU sizes 39-44 and 45-49 respectively. The first 100 pairs also came with a limited edition, numbered brand card.
Production
The first production of the Calibre lace-up sneakers are crafted with woven suede front, fine quilted nappa leather and insoles, croc-stamped straps, copper-plated hardware, and custom logo details. The black version in particular features a specially-sourced rubble sole with splatter paint effect.
