From the trials of war to the atelier floors of Anjou, KLEMAN is a story of renewal, integrity, and craftsmanship. The brand’s roots stretch back to 1945, when René Cléon, returning from five years of imprisonment during World War II, resolved to turn his passion for shoemaking into a living legacy.
In the modest rooms of his family home in La Romagne, he assembled his first stitching machines and gathered apprentices, intent on building a workshop grounded in tradition and character. Over the decades, as his sons Jacques and Louis-Marie joined him, the enterprise evolved—but the heart of the brand remained constant: shoes made with care, rooted in place, and built to last.
In 1988, the Kleman name—short for Cléon Manufacture—was born. While the company had long served French administrations and uniformed services, delivering footwear to railways, customs, fire departments, and the military, the Kleman label marked its pivot into style-conscious territory. The brand embraced a raw, unisex workwear aesthetic, translating the durability and authenticity of a professional’s boot into everyday wear for the urban dweller. Ive’s classic models like PADROR have retained their original silhouette since the 1980s, undimmed by fleeting trends.
Today, KLEMAN remains a 100 percent French-made brand, with every pair crafted in its workshop in Anjou by a team of about forty-five dedicated artisans. Their work is guided by a manifesto of proximity, careful material sourcing, preservation of French artisan skills, and sustainability. Leathers are selected from European tanneries, laces are woven within a few kilometers of the factory, and each stage of production—from cutting and stitching to assembly and finishing—is done with an eye for precision and responsibility. The introduction of chrome-free and vegetable-tanned lines underscores the brand’s evolving commitment to ecological innovation.
KLEMAN’s appeal lies partly in this rare combination of integrity and edge. It is a brand that speaks to those who prize utility without sacrificing design, who seek heritage without rigidity. With its steady hand and quiet confidence, KLEMAN has grown from a regional workshop into an emblem of French workwear culture—one that honors its origins, celebrates its craft, and presses forward on its own terms.
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