Brand Profile - Kleman
Here at Fat Buddha Store we are thrilled to welcome our latest brand; fine French shoemaker Kleman . In this blog post we will go over the storied history of the brand and how they came to define modern footwear. A shoemaker and bootmaker by trade, René Cléon joined the front lines during the Second World War. He was taken prisoner in 1940 during the Battle of France and spent 5 years in captivity in a Stalag in Germany, where he continued to model small leather shoes in his spare time. Probably hoping to be back soon to his homeland, the idea of launching his shoe manufacturing workshop is gradually growing. At the end of the war in 1945, in the weeks following his return, he formed a team of apprentices and bought his first stitching and assembly machines. The story begins in the family home in La Romagne, with a specialization on Kneipp sewn mixed models, then the business grows and a factory is built. The sons Jacques and Louis-Marie took up the torch and diversifi...