The Art of Hand Painted Patina

The Art of Knightline Hand Painted Patina in Spain

Patina is an art crafted and designed for shoes by Olga Berluti, founder of the famous French shoe brand Berluti which took the world by storm in the 80’s. Knightline Patina Artists use basic colours and recreate the magic of ornamental shoe making by mixing different colours as per the customer’s demands. Also, our Patina Artists are aware and knowledgeable when it comes to the leathers reaction to various materials in the process. Only a truly fine Patina Artist has mastered the art of raising the end product to the level of a Patina.

The Patina Artist, a Very Skilled Job

Very few Patina artists lead this new art of Patina - Knightline is proud to partner and to create ornamental works of art with the very best patina artists in the global industry.

Discovering new colouring techniques and using secret recipes and materials make the Patina Artists by profession a very skilled and unique one. A good Patina Artist is able to reproduce a colour precisely on demand, and uses it effectively on shoes as on belts, bags or any other luxury leather lifestyle goods.

Patina is the result of many hand-applied techniques for colouring leather, through the application of essential oils, and multiple layers of pigments and dyes which heavily rely on special materials and paintwork techniques.

The character, shades and intensity imprinted by our master colourist on each pair of shoes makes them a unique piece of art and craftsmanship on their own.

An Antique Finishing Technique for Leathers

The Patina art craft method is a hand dyeing procedure of leather, which creates a completely unique Patina with an aged effect. The procedure begins with unfinished crust leather, which has been tanned and handled, but not dyed yet.

Our Patina artists apply the dyes manually to the uncut hide and the fully assembled shoe, with the usage of white cloths, brushes and sometimes sponges, to create a unique look on each and every pair of shoes. With attentive care and superior savoir-faire, our dedicated craftsmen perfect the personality of each pair of Knightline shoes, helping forge their special 'soul'.

Our Patina artists initially try to impart a look on the shoes that make them appear older an aged. Colours are faded to create a warm old world charm to the shoe, which is more attractive to the eye and comfortable to the fit.

Our launch highlight is the unique 'Ombre Fuego' Patina which is handcrafted at our Patina Workshop in Spain, using artisan sponge dying techniques and being polished by hand.

KNIGHTLINE 'Ombre Fuego' Patina collection is available across our Goodyear Welted Dress Shoes & Boots, Sneakers as well as our lifestyle luggage & accessories launch collection.For a true shoe connoisseur the materials used in the process are of utmost importance alongside the quality of the leathers of our highly acclaimed tanneries, together with the high quality of polishes, creams and other materials make all the difference in this bespoke Patina process.