Donatello Blake-stitched, navy blue/caramel, +6 cm

COUSU BLAKE — Midnight blue / caramel Donatello

Handmade. Made to last.

The modern-chic Oxford. The Donatello is the boldest piece in our Prestige Collection — an elegant blend that appeals to all lovers of fine shoes. Its signature: a midnight blue nubuck with a velvety grain on the quarters and heel, paired with a slightly perforated full-grain calfskin caramel leather on the vamp. The cap toe structures the toe with style, the 5-eyelet lacing completes a perfectly balanced silhouette, and the combination of the two shades — the deep midnight blue and the warm, almost honey-like caramel — gives the Donatello its inimitable personality.

A shoe entirely hand-stitched. No glue, no shortcuts. The sole is stitched to the upper stitch by stitch by the artisan, using the Blake method — the most noble assembly technique in shoemaking. This process takes time and skilled labor, but it changes everything: the shoe is supple from the first day, it breathes better because no layer of glue suffocates the leather, and above all — its sole can be replaced by a cobbler when the time comes. A Cousu Blake pair is not thrown away; it is cared for and passed on.

Two noble materials, one single standard. The Donatello plays on two textures that each require their own expertise. The midnight blue nubuck — a calf leather sanded on the grain side to reveal a fine, velvety texture — brings a matte depth to the whole. The full-grain caramel calf leather, slightly perforated, retains the leather’s natural grain and develops a patina over time. Lining and insole in calf leather; genuine leather sole stamped Mario Bertulli. The caramel patina is applied by hand, shade after shade, by a patina artist: it is what gives this light brown its honey and amber highlights, those lively nuances that echo the deep midnight blue of the nubuck. No industrially produced two-tone finish can match this harmony.

Mario Bertulli craftsmanship, applied to excellence. Like all our models, the Donatello secretly gives you +6 cm thanks to a fully invisible internal lift. What sets it apart: the shoe around it. You are not simply wearing a height-boosting Oxford — you are wearing a true shoemaker’s creation, designed to last.

A pair that can be resoled, cared for, and ages with you.