From barefoot to the first lace-up shoes

But when and how did the first lace-up shoes appear? The answer is not simple, but what we can confirm is that its history reflects the creativity, need and desire for comfort and elegance that has accompanied humanity for thousands of years.

The first signs of foot protection

About 40,000 years ago, in the Stone Age, our ancestors began protecting their feet with primitive natural materials. The first shoes were no longer just a means of protection from stones, tree branches, or extreme temperatures, but also became objects that expressed identity, culture, and even social status.

The oldest archaeological finds of shoes date back to that time, such as the famous skillfully crafted sandal found in a cave in Armenia, which is estimated to be about 5,500 years old. Made from twisted and cut plant fibres, these sandals were simple but effective in design, with the peculiarity that they had no sophisticated laces or closures.

In practice, at that time the concept of protection prevailed rather than the method of decoration or labeling. But over time, especially in the more advanced civilizations of the ancient world, new ideas for tying and decorating shoes, including laces, emerged.

The Egyptian civilization was the first to invent laces

One of the first records of laces used in shoes comes from ancient Egypt, about 3,000 years before the birth of Christ. Not only did the Egyptians wear sandals, but they also invented ways to tie shoes that included laces and leather straps that were tied around the foot with elaborate knots.

These shoes were not only protected, but also served as a symbol of social status and power. Pharaohs and nobles wore strappy sandals decorated with jewels and feathers, reflecting their status and their worship of the gods, as shoes in these cultures also had a ritual character. Laces in Egypt also made it easier to adjust shoes to fit different sizes and shapes of feet, representing an advance in shoe comfort and function.

The Greek and Roman civilizations continued to perfect the art of lace-up shoes. The Greeks, for example, wore sandals that were attached to leather straps and bands around the ankle or leg. These ribbons were tied into elegant knots that sometimes became real works of art.

For their part, the Romans developed shoes with closures and laces that allowed greater adaptability and comfort, essential in an empire that conquered vast territories and needed resistant and practical shoes. Roman “caliga” military boots often had precisely fitting laces, indicating the importance of fit and support in military and civilian activities.

Lace-up shoes are accessible to the general public

From the 14th century until the Renaissance, lace-up shoes were incorporated as a distinctive element of fashion and decoration in the European nobility. Kings, nobles, and court nobles began wearing shoes with finely embroidered laces, often made of silk, velvet, or beaded leather.

A famous example is the pointed and ornate shoes worn by courtiers, often laced with bows or bows in vibrant colours, highlighting the wealth and good taste of the wearer. The length of the ropes, their quality, and the way they were tied also helped to display power and social status. The use of laces on shoes had, at this point, acquired a degree of sophistication that went beyond the simple function of modification: it had become an aesthetic and social expression.

However, the big leap toward the lace-up shoes we know today occurred in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. At that time, especially in England and France, shoes began to be designed in a more structured and comfortable manner, with laces used to better adjust the shoe to the foot. One of the pioneers in popularizing lace-up shoes was the 16th-century Italian shoemaker Antonio Borelli, who designed narrow, ornate shoes with laces made of gold and silver thread for the court. At the same time, laces began to be made with different materials, from soft leather to silk, and in different colors, to reflect fashion and distinction.

With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, everything changed. Shoe manufacturing became automated, and new methods made it possible to produce lace-up shoes more quickly and at a lower cost. The shoe industry began to incorporate machines that cut, sew and modify pieces sequentially. This made lace-up shoes available to more people, not just the social elite. The variety grew, simpler and more comfortable styles became popular, adapted to urban life and daily needs.

In short, the history of lace-up shoes is not just a history of fashion or technical invention; It is the story of how humans sought to protect, adorn and express their identity through shoes.