Ringstyle.

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JIM McINTOSH

How did you come to be invited to make footwear for LOTR? After the announcement that LOTR would be filmed and made in NZ about 1998, we realised there was an opportunity for someone to make footwear, so I sent a CV to Wingnut Films. I haven’t read LOTR. I knew they couldn’t do true costuming by using contemporary footwear; they’d need footwear specially made. In most cases films use contemporary footwear and just add buckles and bows or whatever, either buy from a shop or use what they have in the wardrobe. For such fantasy, folklore and fable, they would need something designed and that is what has happened.

My daughter drew up a CV to show what we had done for film and theatre. We started out with Cloud 9 Productions doing Swiss Family Robinson and Treasure Island and what we did was successful. We didn’t have to put on extra staff, but it does stretch your skill level. Each time I’ve got off the phone after saying, “yes I can do it,” and then started wondering “How the hell do I do it?” It’s not taking risks, we just have to figure out ways to do things, otherwise they’ll find someone else. We told Wingnut we were expensive but very good, and we had a never-let-you-down delivery date. And that’s very important for film companies. We’ve started to specialise in this area partly by design and because NZ’s growing film industry is finding the larger established footwear manufacturers don’t want to mess around with small orders. That’s our niche.

What was the result of sending your CV to Wingnut? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. About 12 months later I realised they were already filming so I called their wardrobe people and they said they’d asked around and heard I just worked on my own and wouldn’t be able to handle it. I guess they thought I was some wizened old shoemaker in Paraparaumu with no elves, but I had 12 staff at that stage and we were doing bulk manufacturing for retailers on the specialist casual fashion market. My first reaction was that maybe someone had pushed me out of the picture by saying that, but I think they just overlooked me. What happened was that because they are doing this film with elves and giants, they were originally going to do it with computer animation to get the difference in body size and heights, but it didn’t look natural enough. So they brought in body doubles. We had on our books a gentleman of 7ft 2in and we were making size 19 shoes for him, so he got a job as a giant body double for many of the lead actors. They had no footwear for him and because we had the lasts already made up, we got that job and then they found we were pretty good so started giving us more and more, particularly when they found we could deliver ahead of deadline. Each of the main actors has a body double to look like a small person, and they use this very tall guy and they take shots of them together so they appear as elves and giants. We were being asked to make women’s size 7 court shoes in silk, then a size 19 to fit this guy who was the giant double for the same woman actor. The shoes had to look exactly the same. It was quite demanding.

Normally in a factory you just hop on a machine and grade up the different patterns, but we don’t have that facility, so we hand prepared patterns and used our years of experience. We were told who the shoes were for, but we didn’t actually meet them, or fit them, or even go near the set. They did the designs, but we did the styling. They sent us measurements and drawings of what they wanted for Sean Bean, Cate Blanchett, Liv Tyler, Ian McKellen and others. Each had a stunt double and a body double for shots used when they didn’t need to show their face, and then a size double. 95% of the shoes fitted quite well. It’s good work for us, and we are always paid promptly. The word that came back was that we were expensive but very good. We charge our work out at the same as a garage would charge for fixing your car, so I don’t consider us expensive.

What about work quality, given that they are only temporary shoes? Are there compromises to suit the purpose and delivery time?There are compromises because they have to be done quickly, and some were done so the wardrobe people could make adjustments on set. For our replica products we will make very high quality shoes, recreating the exact style used in the movie. We made about 75 pairs for LOTR. They generally supplied the material, like beuatiful silk brocades they bought from the Indian bazaars. We had to often very quickly work out how to laminate and bond these materials to leather so they’d last long enough. We’ve learned a lot of new skills, we’ve extended our styling knowledge. We made everything from silk court shoes, to dress riding boots and to chunky twin buckle boots.

What’s the experience been like working for a big feature movie project? There’s a sense of urgency, excitement and a great sense of pride because you know who’s going to be wearing them. And then we get other film companies calling up saying they’ve heard about us and they’d like some footwear made. We’re currently doing footwear for three films and a tv series Dark Knight (based on the classic novel Ivanhoe) made by Palana Productions of Wellington, which has been sold overseas; and for a forthcoming stage production of The Merchant of Venice in Auckland. This work has come at a good time for us because the order book is light. Traditional business is very soft, retailers have had a tough time, due to fuel price rises and consumer discretionary spending being down; it means we don’t have to shrink our business any further, we can keep our staff on.

What are your plans for Ringstyle replica footwear? When the film is finished and the current copyright and trademark restraints are lifted, we intend to make and market Ringstyle footwear. I believe LOTR is going to be one of the greatest achievements in film history because it’s based on Tolkien’s books which people have grown up with. Some of the producers are comparing it with Star Wars, but I believe it will have a much bigger impact because it has wider age appeal. There will be a fashion explosion around LOTR. Our price tags will be competitive to justify the style and quality and the time and detail input. They’ll be made to order and they’ll cost between $NZ 500 and $NZ 1200 a pair. Some people will pay that because they want the real thing. Fashion is always looking for new themes and because of the colour, style and fantasy elements of LOTR, and we’ve had so much black, and the sameness of corporate style, it’s time for this. I think back to my youth and the Carnaby St gear that we wore then in the 70s, the Paisley prints, the bright pastels and ruffled shirt fronts.. We wanted individuality and colour. It’s going to come back and I think LOTR may be the shove we get in that direction.