Custom-made shoes with fish leather, starting from €1,000 a pair are made here, in this tiny family-run Bavarian shoe shop named ‘Shoe Koppitz’.
The workshop is located in a small city near the Bavarian capital of Munich, where brothers Florian and Michael Koppitz – fifth generation shoemakers – use various sorts of fish skin – catfish, salmon and carp amongst others. The unique skin of the fish is perfect for high-quality shoes but requires complex craftsmanship.
“The fish leather shoes are quite exclusive. We need three days up to a week to finish one pair of shoes and we produce around 45 pairs a year”, said master shoemaker Florian Koppitz. “What is special is that each skin is unique. You don’t have just a shoe with a unique look, rather every fish skin is completely unique. And of course the durability. If you take care of this shoe, it can last for 20 years and then it pays off”, he added.
The Koppitz brothers received the prestigious Bavarian State Award in 2015 for their innovative work.
The shoes are not only unique in design and material but also environmentally sustainable. No fish has to be killed in order to produce the shoes.
