Why it belongs in ORBIS
French Goodyear-welt shoemaker under the Manfield group, a family shoe business dating to 1844. Combines English last-making heritage with Italian finishing, using leathers from Northamptonshire, Brazil, Paris tanneries and Tuscany.
Bowen is a French shoemaking brand built specifically around Goodyear-welt construction, tracing its identity to the 19th century, when French shoemakers travelled to Northampton, England to learn the technique. The brand operates under Manfield, a family shoe business founded in 1844 that has passed through six generations. Bowen's connection to England deepened in 1998, when it began a formal collaboration with Alfred Sargent Shoemakers of Northampton, and in 2012 Bowen took a majority stake in the Alfred Sargent company. Every Bowen shoe is Goodyear-welted as standard, using leathers from established French and Italian tanneries alongside sourcing from Northamptonshire, Brazil and Tuscany.