Porqueres
Mallorca
Porqueres are traditional Mallorcan footwear, humble, simple and sturdy, closed with laces, with a tyre sole and canvas and leather upper, created for everyday use in rural areas.
Their origin dates to the 1920s, when espadrilles were used as work footwear in the fields, with the drawback that the canvas upper and sole would get wet in winter.
Coinciding with the arrival of the first motor cars in Mallorca, local chronicles place the creation of the first porqueres as the result of a farmer’s need to reuse an old car wheel for the soles, giving rise to a more resistant but equally economical and useful shoe for agricultural work.
The traditional models, shoes and ankle boots, are made of canvas combined with leather on the toe, the eyelet and a characteristic strap that surrounds the shoe and are sewn directly to the tyre sole with a 360º stitch. Today, they are produced in almost identical fashion, proving that some traditional designs are timeless.
Mallorca
Ben Calçat
Ben Calçat is a factory and shop selling traditional Mallorcan footwear located on the pedestrian street of Sa Lluna in Sóller. It is a long-established family business that has been a benchmark for local craftsmanship since its foundation in 1975.
Since 1989, they have specialised in making Mallorcan country footwear, known as porqueres, updating them with a wide range of colour combinations that honour the tradition of reuse and sustainability of this type of footwear, as the pattern for this model allows for maximum reuse of the leather. Currently, Paco Mira, his sister María and his son Jaume Mora sell more than 2,000 pairs a year in their physical and online stores.
In addition to porqueres, Ben Calçat offers other types of traditional footwear such as Mallorcan boots, patateras and fraileras, all handmade with attention to detail and high-quality materials. Customers can even customise their shoes in the workshop during their visit.
The shop is not only a place to buy shoes, but also a cultural stop in Sóller, where visitors can learn first-hand about the tradition of Mallorcan footwear, chat with the artisans and appreciate the manufacturing process that has been kept alive for decades.
Ben Calçat is part of the Moda Artesana de Mallorca brand, promoted by the Consell de Mallorca, recognising, protecting and promoting artisan fashion made on the island as a contemporary cultural expression.
Monge Studio
Monge Studio is a project created by Pedro Monge in 2012 with the aim of updating Mallorcan craftsmanship through contemporary design. The studio works with a deep respect for traditional crafts, understanding innovation not as a break with the past, but as a natural evolution of artisanal know-how. A dialogue between past and present.
One of the brand’s signature products is the porqueres: functional and honest footwear, originally designed for everyday work in rural environments.
Monge Studio approaches this reinterpretation by maintaining manual processes and attention to detail, but incorporating an innovative approach to design, materials, proportions and uses. The result does not seek to reproduce the object as it was, but to update it: to adapt its essence to new contexts, aesthetics and ways of living everyday life. Each piece is the result of a thoughtful process where tradition and design coexist, giving rise to contemporary footwear with deep roots.
Craftsmanship thus becomes a living language, capable of transforming itself without losing its identity.
