Magnificent Five

The world of shoe design has its own authorities - people who managed to make not just beautiful and high-quality shoes, but created their own style, which causes a lot of imitations. We will tell you about the five most famous designers in the world that every shoemaker should know about.

Christian Louboutin : Red is Beautiful

French designer Christian Louboutin in the world of shoe fashion is a patrician aristocrat whose shoes are very expensive: from 350 to 6 000 dollars per pair. Representatives of celebrity castes provide up to a third of sales, and along with Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik, the Christian Louboutin brand is one of the three manufacturers of the most chic shoes in the world.

Christian Louboutin shoes are designed to elevate femininity to the extreme. "I am opposed to the 'hands-on' approach to shoe production," Louboutin once admitted to reporters. He makes shoes that are designed to seduce, and creates its image from many elements: smooth lines, exciting curves and cutouts of the top of shoes, thin heels that look like a flower stalk - it was not for nothing that Monsieur Louboutin was engaged in landscape design in his youth, - reptile leather, velvet, satin , bows, beads and other components of women's happiness.

Louboutin created a unique style and made several breakthroughs in the footwear industry, for which he is praised by shoe connoisseurs. Perhaps the most striking characteristic of the Louboutin style is the red sole on every shoe, which he even patented. But the red sole is perhaps just a gimmick. Louboutin's greatest achievement, however, was the design of a new type of ovoid pump in the late 80s . These featured a slightly more open toe than previously accepted, allowing the toes to be coquettishly revealed and drawing attention to the arch of the foot. The most famous model of these shoes is the Pigalle, with its predatory, narrow toe, deep cutout that reveals the toes, and a 12-centimeter heel. Uncomfortable? Yeah, but they're not sneakers. "Louboutins," as fashionistas affectionately call Louboutin shoes , are like candy: delicious and sometimes even healthy, but only in small doses. Other popular Louboutin shoe styles include the Lady Peep and Very Prive heels and peep-toe pumps , which are among the brand's best-selling models. Finally, we can't overlook the Alti—a pump with a heel and a small platform, created with remarkably precise geometry and proportions.

From the life of a designer: Christian Louboutin's life is steeped in romance and even more work. Born in 1964 to a carpenter, he dropped out of school at 12 and took a job at the Folies Bergère in Paris, where he gained his first impressions of women's shoes and, presumably, the sensuality associated with them. Even then, Louboutin began sketching women's shoes, inspired by dancers' performances. At 18, he became an apprentice to renowned shoe designer Charles Jourdan, who invented the platform shoe and also worked freelance for Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent. In 1988, at 24, Christian Louboutin began working for Dior, and at 29, he opened his first boutique in Paris.

Jimmy Choo : Between Convenience and Luxury

The Jimmy Choo brand is closely related to the concept of "respectability." And if in shoes from Louboutin seductiveness and luxury come to the fore, then in the case of shoes from Jimmy Chu we can talk about a considerable fraction of common sense. The designer strives to ensure that the woman in Jimmy Choo heels can not only feel beautiful, but also spend time at the party without writhing like an Andersen's little mermaid. “Shoes should be comfortable in the first place, but their beauty is just as important,” said Jimmy Chu. He pays great attention to aesthetics, and it is not without reason that celebrities have come to love his shoes no less than Christian Louboutin shoes. Jimmy Chu is considered the author of shoes for Oscar winners - many Hollywood stars stepped on the red carpet in his shoes.

Jimmy Choo achieved success primarily through his professionalism and creative imagination, his ability to meticulously craft shoes with attention to every millimeter. While the designer didn't revolutionize fashion, he managed to achieve high quality and durability while maintaining an elegant form. Jimmy Choo shoes are crafted exclusively from natural materials—fine calfleather, suede, and python—and are decorated with natural stones, silver accents, gilded buckles, vintage embellishments, and leather studs.

The most popular among fashionistas are Jimmy Choo sandals and evening stilettos. These are models made of reptile leather with complex weaves of straps that gracefully wrap around the leg, on a high platform or 10-12-centimeter stiletto heels. High sales also show sandals in a distinctly Greek style and desperately flirty sandals that would look natural on cabaret dancers. The most famous model in this style is the bright purple Feather sandals, decorated with blue feathers, fur and crystals, and featured in the famous TV series Sex and the City. Other iconic Jimmy Choo models include lilac pointed-toe pumps made of shiny Tippi leather, Raquel heeled sandals with four tiers of suede fringe, and flirty open-toed Brigitte pumps in red and white check and with a pair of deliberately simply tied bows. Actress Natalie Portman received an Oscar in open, dazzling white satin shoes, and Tamara Mellon, co-founder of the Jimmy Choo brand and colleague of the designer, appeared in public in Fleur shoes with black and white stripes and a scarlet rose.

Jimmy Choo was born in 1961 in Malaysia, and began his training and career as a shoe designer in London. Jimmy had an interest in shoes since childhood: he made his first pair by hand at age 11. In 1986 , Jimmy Choo opened his own shoe workshop in London. He created beautiful, striking shoes that appeared in fashion magazines, but little else. A fateful meeting with Tamara Mellon, the daughter of a businessman and editor of British Vogue, proved crucial for him. Tamara recognized Jimmy Choo's talent and persuaded her father to invest in the development of the young designer's brand. In 1996, the first Jimmy Choo boutique opened in London, and a joint collection by Jimmy Choo and Tamara Mellon debuted that same year.

Manolo Blahnik: shoe fantasies

The shoes of the Spanish shoe designer Manolo Blahnik can be accurately described as “unusual”. Blahnik experiments with both form and material, boldly combining elements of the avant-garde and timeless classics, adding unexpected extravagant details and always observing impeccable quality. Manolo Blahnik has always been a tireless workaholic and perfectionist who worked for the long term. “It took me so many years to figure out how to make beautiful and technically perfect shoes,” the designer admitted.

Before becoming one of the key figures in the world of shoe fashion, Manolo Blahnik made a stellar career by working for Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior. In the 70 years, the designer made a revolution in the world of shoe design, amid the dominance of platform shoes, he created a new version of classic women's shoes with a pointed toe, a high thin heel and a deep neckline that opens fingers and bends the feet. In 1971, Blahnik introduced the famous Ossie shoe model - sandals with green straps imitating leaves and a cherry-shaped decor.

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In the early 90s, the master craftsman created a new innovation that became another fashion discovery: the designer developed the first women's Gruyere shoe without a heel, but with a high instep that suggested one. Another of Blahnik's footwear discoveries was a long-toed, heelless shoe called a "mule," based on the silhouette of Mediterranean mules, perfectly in keeping with the designer's imaginative style.

The signature shoe of the Manolo Blahnik brand, both yesterday and today, is the Campari shoe, developed in 1994. These classic pointed-toe pumps feature a strap with a round button on the instep.

From the designer's life: Manolo Blahnik was born in 1942 in the Canary Islands—almost in paradise, according to the designer himself. He was surrounded by banana plantations, the sea, and fashion magazines, which his mother meticulously subscribed to. She was deeply interested in fashion and even designed the then-fashionable Catalan espadrilles with a local shoemaker, so Manolo Blahnik's interest in fashionable footwear was practically instilled in him. On his father's advice, Manolo enrolled in linguistics college, but simultaneously studied design, dreaming of becoming a theater designer. It was an editor at American Vogue who set Manolo Blahnik on the true path of shoemaking. Seeing a sketch of a shoe adorned with a cherry blossom branch and ivy in the designer's portfolio, she asked him, "Why don't you make accessories? Make shoes, you'll be good at it." In the early 70s, Blahnik began to develop his shoe business, and so successfully that today his authority in the world of shoe fashion is beyond doubt.

Stuart Weitzman: brilliant work

Shoe designer Stuart Weitzman, dubbed the "sultan of the stiletto" and "the shoemaker-jeweler" in the fashion press, has a special predisposition: he loves and excels at working with precious materials. Weitzman creates intricate shoes and sandals using gold, silver, platinum, diamonds, semi-precious stones, as well as unconventional materials such as vinyl, lacquered cork, organic glass, thermoplastic, and even wallpaper . One of Weitzman's most striking works is the pavé shoe line, hand-embellished with Swarovski crystals. Given the designer's passion for jewelry, it's no surprise that his shoes and sandals are among the top 10 most expensive shoes on the planet, according to The Good Life magazine. Stuart Weitzman shoes appeared on the market in 1986, and today the brand operates boutiques in 60 countries.

The most famous Weizmann shoe model - “shoes for a million dollars,” made a splash in the fashion world. The shoes shown at the Academy Awards by actress Laura Harring were decorated with 464 diamonds on thin straps. In 2012, Weizmann introduced new shoes based on this model. They were called The Millionairess and were inlaid with Swarovski crystals.

Weizmann is a recognized cobbler of stars, a Hollywood man. Since 2002, he made it a rule to create an exclusive pair of shoes with jewelry on special order for the Oscars. In particular, at one of the Oscars, in the literal sense of the word, Diamond Dream and Retro Rose shoes shone, showered with small diamonds.

The designer firmly bends his line, strengthening the role of the most inaccessible shoemaker in the world: he is the author of the most expensive shoes of the year 2009 (shoes with 642 rubies on a platinum thread, the cost of 1 million 600 thousand dollars), as well as one of the most spectacular phenomena in the world of shoe fashion - sandals co-authored with jeweler Le Vian for 2 million dollars, decorated with tanzanite and diamonds.

From the Life of a Designer : Stuart Weitzman was born in 1942 in New York City. A career in shoemaking was almost in his genes: Stuart's father owned a small shoe factory and designed shoes himself. Weitzman began his career as a shoe designer in the mid-80s, the same year the Stuart Weitzman brand was founded. It's worth noting that Weitzman has a background in economics: he graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1963. Perhaps this explains his ability to produce shoes that are not only beautiful but also extremely profitable. In 1995, Weitzman's first boutique opened in New York City, and soon began conquering the American market with boutiques in Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston, and other cities. Today, Stuart Weitzman shoes are sold in 70 countries worldwide and feature not only ultra-expensive models but also designs crafted from traditional materials.

Brian Atwood: natural, like sex

Brian Atwood (Brian Atwood) - from a galaxy of young designers who entered the fashion arena, when the stars of Louboutin, Blanic and Jimmy Chu were already brightly burning on it. But he managed to ensure that his shoes more and more appear on the red carpet and flaunts on the feet of famous people. What is Atwood's secret? He is undoubtedly talented: in the 2003 year, the Council of Fashion Designers of the USA presented him with the award for the best accessory design, and in 2007 he was invited to the position of creative director of the Bally Fashion House. Atwood, in addition, managed to create a unique style: his shoes are not just exclusive, expensive and of high quality, but they are definitely sexy and shrouded in an aura of freedom and looseness. Atwood is inspired by the 70's era, when hippy movements were actively developing. His muses are top model Kate Moss and actress Lauren Hatton. Atwood loves ethnic motifs, suede and a hidden platform, and he manages to combine naturalness with chic, and perhaps this is his main achievement.

The most famous models of Atwood shoes are Loca suede shoes with transparent side inserts and golden rivets, heels in 14,5 centimeters and platform in 3 cm, as well as shoes of the Maniac Platform Pumps series in variations: leather, suede and satin. “Maniacs” have rounded noses, a high heel and a platform, which provides them with a very seductive look along with stability. Atwood Maniac shoes have a reputation as one of Hollywood's most fashionable accessories and are found in almost every Hollywood celebrity’s closet.

From the Life of a Designer : Brian Atwood was born in Chicago in 1963. He often tells reporters that his mother was a great fashionista, and he loved to explore her wardrobe. Perhaps it was these childhood experiences that sparked Brian Atwood's interest in footwear. Brian trained as an architect and then as a designer. Interestingly, Atwood began his fashion career as a model, which is not quite typical for shoe designers. He spent seven years working on the catwalks of Paris, Milan, and New York, but then the time came to take things to the next level. Gianni Versace invited Brian to work on the Versus line, and that was the beginning of Atwood's career as a designer. He served as creative director of the Swiss shoe brand Bally, and in 2001, he launched his own label. Currently, Atwood is fully focused on developing his own brand.