The world championships in Shoe Shining and Shoe Patina 2023
Since its first introduction 2018 the world championships in shoe shining, shoe patina and shoemaking have gathered a great reputation and the Super Trunk Show in London that was established by Jesper Ingevaldsson from shoegazingblog.com and Justin FitzPatrick from theshoesnobblog.com has become the go-to event for everyone who has an interest in well made shoes.
The event is growing from year to year with many interesting exhibitors, from shoe brands and shoemakers to accessory brands. Saphir is the proud partner of the event and especially the world championships in shoe shining and shoe patina because we want to help to provide a platform for the best shoe artisans and shoe shiners to show their skills and will of course also be present with a stand where you can buy our products and have your shoes shined.
The world championship in Shoe Shining
In the final of the championships in shoe shining, which will take place at 15:00 on the 13rd of May at the Super Trunk Show in London, the finalists will polish one Loake 1880 Aldwych shoe in Mahogany.
The contestants have 20 minutes and are provided with one can of Saphir Médaille d’Or Pate de Luxe in the colour of their choice, a can of Saphir Médaille d’Or Mirror Gloss in neutral, water, a brush, a polishing cloth (which they are also allowed to bring themselves) and a nylon cloth.
The winner will then receive the shoe he has polished, a shoe care kit from Saphir and of course a gold medal.
As in the last years the jury consists of experts from the world of shoe shining, Jesper Ingevaldsson of Shoegazing, Justin FitzPatrick of The Shoe Snob, a representative from Loake, Tom Beecroft, who runs the shoe shining and patina service at The Valet and our Business Development and Content Manager Katia Moura. 
The world champion in shoe shining of 2022 Ash Sam from Singapore
The world championships in Shoe Patina
When it comes to the final in shoe patina, the finalists will have more time. The competition begins at 11:15 and ends at 17:15 with an one hour break (14:45-15:45).
The shoes that will be painted are Penny Loafers from the Spanish brand TLB in an undyed crust leather.
The contestants can choose 5 colours from our Saphir Beauté du Cuir Teinture Francaise and are allowed to mix them into any desired shade. They will also be provided one Saphir Medaille d’Or Pommadier shoe cream, one can of Pate de Luxe wax and one Mirror Gloss in the colours of their choice, plus a horsehair brush and nylon cloth.
It is also allowed to bring your own brushes and equipment for painting and polishing.
The jury (preliminary) consists of Tom Beecroft of The Valet , Neus Benavent previously at Corthay and Gaziano & Girling, and Alan Lee of CNES Shoemaker, Jesper Ingevaldsson of Shoegazing, Justin FitzPatrick of The Shoe Snob, Toni Llobera of TLB Mallorca and Katia Moura of Saphir.
Toan Junie from France, world champion in shoe patina 2022.
How to enter the competitions
To enter the competitions send an email to shoegazingblog@gmail.com until the 12th of March 2023, with 3 images of either a pair of shoes that you polished, if you want to join the shoe shine competition or 3 pictures of a pair of shoes where you did the patina if you want to enter the patina competition.
The images should show the pair of shoes well from different angles and for the shoe shining competition a close up can also be helpful to show the shine and for the patina competition at least one image should show the whole pair of shoes.
Enter “World Championships of Shoe Shining” in the subject field to enter the shoe shining competition and “World Championships of Shoe Patina” if you want to enter the Patina Competition.
We wish you good success and hope to see you all there!