Mashizan

MASHIZAN is a footwear label by Mashizan Masjum, a Paris- and NYC-based Singaporean shoe designer. Established in 2015, the brand’s shoes are meticulously handmade by Florentine craftsmen. Mashizan trained in Florence, Italy in shoemaking and designing, as well as at Institut Français de la Mode in Paris in Global Fashion Management. Prior to launching his luxury shoe brand, he was a TV documentary producer, director, and writer for almost 20 years working on shows for Nat Geo, Discovery and History Channels. Each of his collection is inspired by global travels during the filming of his past documentaries.

When you wear a pair of shoes by Mashizan Masjum, 49, you are not just embracing the superior quality and craftsmanship of his eponymous footwear label, you are stepping back in time to one of the designer’s fondest moments of his 20-year career as a TV producer.

Singaporean-designed and Italian-made, Mashizan shoes are special in that each capsule collection is inspired by a documentary that Mashizan once produced and the countries he has travelled. One of our favourite collections is Echoes of Kyoto Memories, inspired by a documentary he filmed in Japan that tackled issues of ageing society and the discord between tradition and modernity. To capture the essence of his time spent there, he used repurposed vintage Japanese obis and kimonos and transposed paired together with luxurious Florentine suede.

“Because of my background in television documentaries, I have travelled and been to many places around the world. I wanted to bring something different from my point of view as a designer. I’ve been lucky to have seen many parts of the world, and experienced beauty in its myriad forms. So I wanted every one of our collections to reflect this,” he explains.

Another of his signature motifs is an embroidered peacock as seen in another collection called Brazen Peacock of the Southern Gardens of Sentosa, a nod to the big and beautiful birds that fearlessly roam the island of Sentosa. “To me, that’s the essence of the woman I’m designing for — the Mashizan woman. She’s bold, she’s fearless!”