S23M Distressed Horse Leather Lace-Up Boots

Carpe Diem was founded by Maurizio Altieri in Perugia, Italy in the mid-1990s, after he learned leather under Richard Stark at Chrome Hearts, and it closed in 2006. It began in leather alone: hides were washed, distressed, crushed, and in some cases buried in soil for months, each piece deliberately worn down before it ever sold. Altieri refused advertising and editorials, believing the pieces spoke for themselves. The footwear was shaped under Simone Cecchetto, who went on to found A1923, and the label is regarded as the origin point of the artisanal movement that produced m.a+ and Label Under Construction. It has only grown scarcer since it closed.

Horse leather upper. Stacked leather heel.

The distressing is the finish, so never polish it back: brush dry dirt off, keep the leather fed sparingly with a neutral conditioner tested on the heel first, and let wet boots dry slowly with the laces out. Resole through a cobbler who will respect the stitched waist.