Septième Largeur

A family-run Paris label that helped democratize patina in ready-to-wear footwear. Spanish manufacturing is fully acknowledged, with French leathers and Goodyear welt construction. Authorial shoes without bespoke-level pricing.

It started with one pair of shoes. In 2009, Marcos Fernandez Cabezas and his nephew Mathieu Preiss opened a store on rue Saint-Lazare in Paris. The idea came from a lucky accident: a client asked for a navy patina on a Gedeon wholecut, for another brand. Demand took off. The two decided to build an entire collection around patina.

Marcos was no beginner. More than fifty years in the footwear industry. He launched Sebago and Doc Martens in France, created Bowen in the 1980s, Emling in the 1990s. He knows where the good factories are, and above all where not to go. After producing in England, he moved production to Spain about thirty years ago. The partner factory near Almansa has been the same from day one: Andres Sendra.

The positioning is crystal clear: patinated Goodyear welt shoes from 235 to 400 euros. Leathers are 90% French - tanneries in Le Puy and Annonay - with English Stead suede as a complement. English-school rigor, Paris design instinct. And above all, patina as signature. The in-store Studio Patine lets clients commission hand patina on natural leather. Septieme Largeur was among the first to offer this in ready-to-wear, when others still kept patina for bespoke.

The name? The seventh width is the most common width in France. No pretension, no artificial storytelling. Just a trade insider's nod.

Mathieu Preiss runs the brand day to day. No investors, no fund money. A family structure, about ten people in Paris, two Paris stores plus Geneva and Taipei. At the end of 2024, the rue Saint-Lazare flagship was fully renovated after fourteen years - a new visual identity to mark the next chapter.

Value for money is widely recognized among shoe enthusiasts. Patinas are careful, finishing is clean for the price, and in-store service gets near-unanimous praise. The debate is about raw material level: against Carmina in a similar range, the leather is often seen as slightly below. A few isolated reports mention quality-control defects on new pairs. Still, for a patinated, resoleable Goodyear welt shoe in this price bracket, it is hard to find better.