Jan Jansen was born in 1941 as the son of a shoe salesman. In the sixties he started his career as haute chaussurier at a small workshop in Amsterdam.

Together with his wife and muse Tonny, who supports the design process by testing new models and choosing colours, Jan Jansen gained worldwide attention with his remarkable shapes and fits. His designs have been proven to stay fashionable, even if they were designed decades ago.

His shoes appear in every international reference book on shoe design. Models like the Rattan from 1973, Indian Hands from 1979 and Kissing the Pope’s Toe from 1990 were way ahead of their time.

Jansen’s shoes are produced in small factories in Italy and Portugal, and are sold via his own shops in The Netherlands and The United Kingdom.

Extravagant. Original. Joyous. These are the qualities that describe the shoes, and count for the designer too. After 50 years, Jan Jansen still doesn’t concede to current trends or consumer demands.

Dutch Profiles is a series of short documentaries produced by Submarine commissioned by DutchDFA about architects, graphic, product and fashion designers in the Netherlands. Dutch Profiles focuses on the conceptual, context-oriented and research-based practice of Dutch designers and includes interviews with, among others: MVRDV, Irma Boom, Jurgen Bey, Claudy Jongstra, Hella Jongerius, Paul Mijksenaar, Marlies Dekkers, Alexander van Slobbe and G-Star.

Director: Hiba Vink
Camera: Jelle Ode
Sound: Eric Leek
Editing: Maurik de Ridder
Kleurcorrectie: Maurik de Ridder
Music Sound Design: Pastelle
Commissioning editor Submarine: Geert van de Wetering
Producer Submarine: Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen
Production assist: Liselot Francken
Produced by Submarine,
Commissioned by DutchDFA