Jawad Malik left college at 21 to start Idrese in 2019, after spending years frustrated that decent leather shoes seemed to come in only two options: cheap pairs that wore out fast, or well-made ones costing $500 or more. He set production in Almansa, a Spanish town known specifically for shoemaking and already home to brands like Magnanni, where each pair goes through more than 150 steps over about four weeks. Shoes are Goodyear-welted and cut from vegetable-tanned full-grain leather, sold directly to customers rather than through traditional retail markups.