PENELOPE CHILVERS

The Long Tassel Boot started as a commission. Penelope Chilvers was living in Barcelona, riding in the Collserola hills above the city on her lunch breaks in Spanish riding boots made by local artisans, and eventually asked one of them to build her a version to her own specification — taller, closer at the ankle. She had first met Spanish handwork as a child on holidays in Girona, in espadrilles and raw-edged bull hide moccasins, and launched her own collection in 2005. The boots are still hand-stitched by Spanish artisans, and the tassel is the tell.