STUART WEITZMAN
FOOTWEAR DESIGNER
Comfort & Elegance
INTERVIEW CLAUDIA TRIMDE
Involved in all stages of footwear design from an early age and ever sensitive to “what women want”, Stuart Weitzman has managed to translate his admiration for the fairer gender into a distinctive product that has become a veritable global hit. You have forged an interesting relationship with flats...
As fashion creators, we have invested a great deal of effort into making flats tasteful, so that they’re as beautiful as high-heels. We’re well aware that women are after comfort, but it’s not just about a simple flip-flop, ballet slipper or sandal that “works”. Sandals and flats produce the same sound and smile on a woman’s face as 5 inch heels. What’s more, flats sell better than high-heels and have turned into remarkable creations, with snake skin, jewels...
You have been manufacturing your shoes in Spain for a long time. Why is that?
In practical terms, it has to do with the fact we built our own factory here and our organisation, outside the US, is here. In functional terms, the main reason is that Alicante is a community that, with cities like Elda and Elche, has been manufacturing footwear for 200 years, helping to develop a tradition of producing quality footwear. Manufacturing footwear is
// Biography He began his career as an apprentice of his father, shoe designer, under the name of Mr. Seymour. His first design was a heeled shoe. Then followed by party shoes, sports shoes, golf shoes and a bridal shoe collection and other shoes and waterproofed boots.1995 he opened his first store on Madison Street in New York. It is one of the largest manufacturers in the U.S. women’s footwear and the shoes are sold in 45 countries around the world.
Presence in Europe and the Middle East SUMMER 2012
What are this season’s major trends?
This season will be about bright-coloured, fluorescent shoes, if you want to send an audacious and powerful message. Pale colours, if you’re looking to embody tranquillity; and
even combining the same shoe with what we call colour block. That’s perhaps the top trend. Flats represent the other trend. This season, we have unveiled some gorgeous ideas, new additions and interesting features. And lastly, for the girl who wants to be extra sexy, no shoe sets the mood better than high cocktail shoes, high sandals or sandals with a platform. While this is nothing new in terms of “fashion”, it gets rejuvenated every season, and that’s the very epitome of a trend. The kind of evening shoe we designed for Angelina Jolie, with a hidden, interior platform, isn’t going to disappear this season.