Thomas Pesquet, who returned last November after 6 months on the International Space Station, must still keep memories full of his head in space... But he will now also have them at his feet, thanks to the Stade Toulousain and to the company LBT Sneakers.
The rugby club, of which the astronaut is an ambassador, has indeed called on a Toulouse-based custom trainer manufacturer to design a pair of trainers made up in part of materials from space.
This present was given to him last January to celebrate his return to Earth.
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An extraordinary shoe
Jean-Emmanuel Pialoux, craftsman-bootmaker at LBT Sneakers, still remembers the conversation that led to the design of this extraordinary pair, when Stade Toulousain came to visit his shop to discuss the design of a pair to the effigy of the club: “
Between two discussions, they told us that they wanted to offer a present to Thomas Pesquet and I answered directly: you have to offer him a pair!
“The project makes sense, Thomas Pesquet has always dreamed of becoming a basketball player and the world of sneakers “
speaks to him
”.
The club of the pink city then gives its approval to the two craftsmen of LBT sneakers and puts them in contact with the French astronaut.
They then looked at the materials they could use, with the help of the main local players from the aerospace industry.
Jean-Emmanuel Pialoux and his partner Nicolas Fournes thus obtained MLI, an extremely resistant satellite insulator, betacloth, a textile used on astronaut suits, and brass mesh, a conductor used in space robotics.
At the same time, Thomas Pesquet gave them his choice of model, a pair of Air Jordan 1s, and gave them his feedback on the details and inscriptions he wanted to add.
Finally, the box that contains the pair was also designed by a major player in the aerospace sector, Comat, which had notably manufactured the boxes transporting the blobs during Thomas Pesquet's last mission to the ISS.
"Hourly labor could be calculated at around 4000€",
Jean-Emmanuel Pialoux, bootmaker at LBT Sneakers
A hundred hours of work were needed to make this extraordinary pair: 20 hours for researching materials, 40 hours for prototyping and testing and 40 hours for designing the final pair.
A work extended over more than 6 months after the order from Stade Toulousain in September 2021, which Jean-Emmanuel Pialoux struggles to quantify: "
The workforce at the hourly rate could be estimated at around 4000€
", even if the latter admits that the value this pair is difficult to assess because of the scarcity of materials.
“
I dare not imagine the price at which he could resell it if he put it up for auction
,” he adds with a smile.
Sneakers at the service of the shoemaking profession
This operation finally allowed the two craftsmen to benefit from favorable media exposure for their activity.
Those who practice "
bespoke
" - the art of starting from a pair of classic sneakers and sublimating it to the customer's wishes - receive new requests every day from ever more creative and original customers: "
A customer who is a fan of poker would like to embed a piece of croupier's mat in the shoe as well as chips in the shaft
”, explains the Toulouse craftsman.
To obtain a customized pair, you must nevertheless be aware of the budget but above all of the work that this represents for the artisan-bootmaker: “
It is necessary to count 1500€ minimum for a pair, which includes the work upstream and the research of materials.
It is a passion like any other
”.
Even if few still manage to make a living from
bespoke
, the activity is gaining in popularity with the boom in the sneaker market and is set to grow strongly over the next few years.