These leather shoes sell for up to $600 a pair. The man who makes them is 96 years old

The Age

16-06-2025

'Otherwise I'd get bored. I wake up and have got something in my mind, something to do — to start the machine.
'I have a feeling that if I say I stop working for my bread, I will get sick. I'm happy to work.'
Twenty-five years ago, 15 Yacoub family members made up to 7000 pairs of women's shoes per week for the Diana Ferrari brand.
When Ferrari's manufacturing moved overseas, Milad became a builder and his siblings opened food businesses. 'Dad told me, 'please find me some work', and so I rang around and found Parigina,' Milad said.
It was a perfect fit for both parties.
Yacoub's career started at age 10, in the Lebanese city of Tripoli. He didn't go to school, and to prevent him getting up to mischief, his father found him a job assisting a shoemaker.
Two years later, Yacoub's mother bought him a secondhand Singer sewing machine and he opened his own shop making men's shoes. Yacoub soon employed four people and made shoes for soldiers.
Customers would come from villages outside Tripoli.
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Yacoub married Hawa in 1948 and they had six children. In 1974, the family migrated to Australia, with one married daughter staying behind.
After a year renting, Yacoub bought the Essendon house where he still lives.
For decades, Yacoub made shoes for brands like SPS, Aviv and Dormax, and then Diana Ferrari. He preferred to work from home and be close to his family, and so it is today.
Yacoub has 24 grandchildren and 40 great-grandchildren. Grandson Michael says Yacoub is often seen finishing shoes late at night.
Parkinson, whose father Peter owns Parigina Shoes and McCloud Shoes, is a fan of Yacoub's. 'He brings an incredible sense of care and craftsmanship to his work,' he says.
'He continues to contribute with precision and pride. His commitment and skill are nothing short of inspirational – and a testament to the enduring spirit of traditional artisanship.'