70 years of K2: The rebirth of the boot that conquered the summit

All the members of the 1954 expedition - including more than 700 porters between balti (low-altitude porters) and hunza (high-altitude porters) - wore boots made from leather worked in the Pietro Presot tannery in Porcia and produced in the Giuseppe Garbuio shoe factory in Montebelluna, with the La Dolomite brand that combined the leather from the Friulian tannery with a rubber sole by Vibram.

The '70 Years of K2' project saw the reproduction of three different types of boots used 70 years ago to make the approach march, to take the climbers up to an altitude of 7,000 metres and finally to complete the assault on the summit.

"The project helps us to rediscover, learn and disseminate the manufacturing techniques of the past," explains the technical director of Politecnico Calzaturiero, Alice Marcato. "Thanks to this initiative, we are not only keeping the historical memory of ancient craftsmanship practices alive, but also offering our students a unique opportunity to confront methods of workmanship that would otherwise risk being forgotten.

Given the focus of our training offer on handmade footwear, this project allows our students to understand the historicity of particular manufacturing techniques and to study their evolution over time, enriching their skills with practical, hands-on experience'.

The companies involved, he adds, 'not only represent excellence in the sector, but also marked the history of the Italian expedition on K2, demonstrating how innovation and tradition can complement each other perfectly.

Together, we are committed to passing on the importance of these techniques to future craftsmen, so that they can continue to innovate firmly anchored in the quality of tradition'.

The North-East districts represent excellence in the footwear sector: besides the Montebelluna sports shoe district and the Veronese footwear district, the Brenta Footwear is the second largest export growth district in the Veneto region in the fashion system: +127.9 million euro or +12.8%.

The increase is mainly due to France, thanks to the district's strong production links with the big French luxury houses (Lvmh and Manufacture Dior).

According to an in-depth study contained in Intesa Sanpaolo's Report of Industrial Districts 2024, the Brenta Shoe District ranks second among the Italian districts with the highest number of employees of luxury fashion houses, whose production, distributed in the provinces of Venice and Padua, is concentrated in high-quality women's footwear, recognised internationally for its design and aesthetic taste.

In 2023, more than 3,100 employees of the luxury fashion houses found employment in the district, an increase of around 91% compared to 2015, demonstrating the strong attractiveness of the skills recognised in the area, which have always been fuelled by the training offered by the Politecnico Calzaturiero.

The nationally recognised Footwear Polytechnic runs theSchool of Footwear and Leather Goods Design and Technology.

Since 1923 it has been training pattern makers and technicians who are employed in the Veneto region and throughout Italy. It represents, as a legal entity, the footwear industrial district of the Riviera del Brenta.

He is one of the founding members of the Face Design Consortium and the Its Cosmo, for which he realises the 'Higher Technical Expert in Fashion Shoes Coordinator' course.

The Politecnico Calzaturiero is accredited by the Veneto Region for the implementation of orientation, continuing and higher education projects and for employment services.