How An N.B. Shoe Company Stepped Up To Outfit The Cast Of ‘The Porter’
FREDERICTON–The Hartt Shoe Company, a New Brunswick heritage brand in footwear for over a century, was recently tasked with recreating authentic shoe styles from 100 years ago for The Porter, a new series from CBC and BET+ that’s set to premiere Feb 21.
The Porter is an original drama about railway workers in Canada and the United States who joined together to create the world’s first Black union.
Andrew Bedford, CEO for The Hartt Shoe Company, says he was approached by the show’s producers to create some period footwear for the main and supporting cast. Hartt was actually in business during the 1920s in its original capacity as Hartt Boot and Shoe Company Ltd.
“We went back through our catalogue from 100 years ago — and we don’t have a lot of things from that time period — but we do have some,” said Bedford, identifying old wooden molds which created the form for crafting the shoes by hand.
Bedford says they pulled the oldest one the company had, which was from the 30s and built their model around it to match the style of the two-tone dress shoes that were common at the time.
He says one of the most interesting things about the style is how little it has changed over the years; a black toecap Oxford is almost an identical shoe today to what the Hartt brand would have made 100 years ago.
“If we took one of our old shoes and put it beside one that’s been worn for five years, you’d be hard-pressed to spot which one is 100 years old, assuming it’s been looked after,” said Bedford.
With such a timeless style, Bedford says much of the outfitting process was taking Hartt’s modern footwear and getting it sized properly for the supporting cast.
Work was more customized for the show’s leading cast, which Bedford says received custom shoes in a couple of different styles.
A timely production inspired by real events
Set in the 1920s, The Porter follows the journeys of an ensemble of characters who hustle, dream, cross borders and pursue their ambitions in the fight for liberation — both on-and-off the railways that crossed North America.
Set primarily in Montreal, Chicago, and Detroit as the world rebuilds after the First World War, The Porter depicts the Black community in St. Antoine, Montreal, known at the time as the “Harlem of the North.”
Its young, Black characters hail from Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean via the Underground Railroad and through the Great Migration and follows them both north and south of the colour line.
After working closely with the show’s creators remotely, Bedford accepted an invitation to visit the production in Winnipeg last fall.
“Sometimes you don’t realize the impact of your work and I wasn’t expecting any of this but I showed up and the show’s creator, Arnold Pinnock, was standing by the door to welcome me,” Bedford said.
Bedford arrived just when the cast was shooting one of the pivotal scenes in the series.
“He rushed me in just as one of the big scenes was ending and brought me to the centre of the production and the full cast was all in costume. He introduced me and they gave me a standing ovation, everybody loved the shoes so much,” said Bedford, who adds the experience of that moment alone would be hard to top for him.
For Bedford, who spent a lot of time working in and around social justice issues as a youth, a lot more came from visiting the set and learning about the real life events which course through the show’s characters.
“It’s great to see society starting to address these issues, asking the right questions, and the hard questions and bringing about the change that’s been needed for so long,” said Bedford. “To go there and to see all of this, it just made me really proud.
While Bedford says it’s encouraging to see positive changes happening in society right now, he believes there’s a lot more that needs to happen.
“I think we’re just starting down this road, but every time you see a production like this, it’s moving the needle in the right direction and it’s wonderful to see that.”
Tyler Mclean is a Huddle reporter based in Fredericton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].