Luccico

Luccico in Neue Schönhauser Straße: handmade women’s shoes in Mitte

Luccico is now located at Neue Schönhauser Straße 18, in the shopping area between Hackescher Markt and Rosenthaler Platz. Weinmeisterstraße subway station is less than a hundred meters away, Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station is a good three hundred, and Alexanderplatz is about five hundred. Those coming by car should factor in parking zone 29, where four euros per hour are charged, and which is the only zone in Berlin managed even on Sundays until midnight. The shop itself is narrow and quietly furnished, the shoes are displayed individually rather than in rows, and it quickly becomes clear that items are not sorted by seasonal trend colors here. It all started in 1988 in a basement room on Gneisenaustraße, before Luccico moved via Zossener Straße and many years on Bergmannstraße, finally settling in Mitte. The street is one of the busiest shopping sections of Spandauer Vorstadt and is easily accessible on foot from three sides.

Viola Fonti, own designs, and sewn leather soles

Behind the assortment is owner Gunhild Poprawka, who curates her selection herself and has been working with small Italian workshops for years. The most important of these is Viola Fonti in Monte San Pietrangeli near Ancona, where a large portion of the women’s shoes are created. Many models are not catalog items but designs from the shop itself, which the workshop then implements; around one hundred models are produced this way each year. Production is done by hand, and the leather soles are sewn instead of glued, which pays off later when re-soling. In addition, there are other Italian and Spanish labels, as well as individual models by Belgian and English designers. The name is Italian and means “I shimmer,” which suits the style: classically cut, cleanly finished, and deliberately without decoration. Among women’s shoe stores in Berlin, Luccico is thus the address for all who want to know from which workshop their pair actually comes. Prices and sizes are currently not publicly available online because the online shop is being revised; if you want to get an idea, it’s best to ask directly in the store.