Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes by Que Shebley is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award in Footwear, Shoes and Boots Design Competition Category.
IronFootwear· 2021
Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes
by Que Shebley
Client: Q by Qs
A' Design Award Winner in Footwear Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #106650The Design
About Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes
The Quswa wholecut was inspired by the historical battle of Badr, represented by hand carved Arabic Calligxraphitti encryption on high grade Italian leather. Designer Que Shebley states "here are 5 version series of the Quswa wholecut as each design released continues the originating encryption as a whole, the encryption signifies one of the most significant moments of the battle". The design is hand painted in layers with a patina technique. The sole hand made with a beveled waist closed channel with metal toe taps for that extra aristocrat feel. A true master piece and a must see.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award
Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Interviews
Grand Interview
Your innovative integration of Arabic calligraphy into the Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes creates a powerful bridge between historical storytelling and contemporary fashion - could you elaborate on how you developed this unique artistic approach to preserve the Battle of Badr's legacy through footwear design?
The Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes represent more than just footwear; they are a canvas for storytelling. Arabic calligraphy is not merely an aesthetic choice—it’s a tribute to the profound historical significance of the Battle of Badr. My approach began with an intention to honor this pivotal moment in history through a wearable art form. I worked closely with calligraphy artisans to ensure each inscription carried both visual harmony and historical accuracy. The leather surface became a space where ancient wisdom meets modern craftsmanship, reminding the wearer of resilience, honor, and courage. This design isn’t just about preserving a legacy—it’s about allowing history to walk into the present with grace and purpose.
The hand-carved calligraphy on the Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes represents different moments from the Battle of Badr across five versions - how did you select which specific events to encrypt into each design, and what determined their placement on the leather surface?
Each inscription was carefully selected to represent a defining moment from the Battle of Badr—moments of sacrifice, courage, and unity. The goal was to tell a chronological story across the five versions, each capturing an emotional and strategic highlight from the battle. Placement on the leather surface was determined by both aesthetic balance and symbolic meaning. Key phrases and verses were positioned in areas that naturally draw the eye—such as the vamp, quarters, or heel—ensuring the message resonates visually and spiritually. The result is a seamless blend of art and history, crafted with precision and intention.
The patina technique used on the Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes involves multiple intricate layers of hand painting - could you walk us through your process of achieving that distinctive antique finish while maintaining the leather's natural characteristics?
The patina process for the Quswa Wholecut Dress Shoes is a labor of dedication and artistry. It begins with selecting the highest quality leather—a canvas that can hold both the dye and the essence of the story. Each layer of patina is meticulously hand-applied, starting with lighter tones and gradually building depth and character. Between each layer, the leather is allowed to rest and absorb the pigments fully, preserving its natural texture and breathability. The final stage involves gentle buffing and sealing to ensure a soft sheen while protecting the artistry underneath. This method not only results in a rich, antique aesthetic but also ensures the leather remains supple, durable, and uniquely expressive.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- Hand carved arabic calligxraphitti encryption on high grade italian leather, than it is hand painted in layers with a patina technique. The sole is hand made with a beveled waist and closed channel with metal toe taps. Than hand painted to perfection.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- This shoe comes in 4 International metric standard shoe sizing including EU US JP UK
- Tags
- Qbyqs, shebleygroup, qshoes, qbrand, queshebley, Badrbattle, quswashoe
- Production Technology
- Hand cut by mastery cutters from tanned high grade italian calf leather, the pattern than is hand carved with the arabic calligxraphitti, than assembled and connected by hand to the sole. the leather sections are than hand painted into multi layers with the patina technique including adding the base color, than secondary and third depending on the pattern’s need and color absorbability to the leather. A unqiue hand bleaching technique is than used to create the aging like effect and brush stroke feel, giving it an amazing antique like finish.
- Design Challenge
- The challenges come from perfection the right mold of the shoe and design as well as the pattern and exact placement of the seams. Many prototypes are made to finalize the right cut, size and stitch line end of each pattern to end with the best design aesthetic to the foot. Other challenges include perfecting the patina painting on each Part separately while creating a consistency for each color and piece in the pattern, as well as layering perfectly each pattern layer without over whelming the leather so that it keeps its natural supple and new exterior. Also perfecting the placement of the calligxraphitti is challenging since certain leathers should be more visible than others for aesthetics and significance reasons.
It is as you are working almost the same as on human skin, you have to be very carefull as any mark will show and it doesn't heal. - Research
- The process of our designs start with inspiration both for design and functionality, this particular model started with the history of the battle of Badr, and the story behind it and events. Diving deep not the details of the battle we toke significant event and encrypted them directly into the leather, where in a digital age history is lost , we want to preserve this history into art form that is also made to last for centuries, just as our ancestors using different forms of art and materials to preserve their history.
We than sourced the best tanneries and importers that supply high grade italian calf leathers.
Our master cutters carefully cut the patterns and prepare them to be sewn after the natural rest of the skin.
The patterns than are stenciled with the calligraphy pattern and a master artist carves in the pattern, once finished it goes to the patina artisan to start the hand patina process. - Inspiration
- Inspired by the historical battle of Badr, the design encrypts hand carved arabic calligxraphitti including messages that highlight certain events during the battle.
- Project Duration
- Started in may 2020 in detroit usa, finished in August 2020 in spain.
- Operation Flow
- It is as you are wearing a piece of art while having the benefits of durability and comfort of the high quality production. It is comfterble for all day wear and built to last.
- Patents
- QS Que Shebley
- Team Members
- Que shebley
- Image Credits
- Shebley group llc
Que Shebley
Q by Qs
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