PHOTOGRAPHED BY GEORDY PEARSON.How I got my start
"I think a lot of people don’t really get involved in the process, especially if they’re businesspeople. I do all of my own patterns, all of my own moldings, and all of my own heels. I don’t just draw a sketch of a shoe and pass it to someone. I create all of the patterns and the castings, not just an idea or a mood board. It’s all about the millimeter I took off or added to the pattern, the way that it cuts the ankle, or how it makes your foot stand. No one can translate that for me the way I see it. If I do it myself, it hasn’t been diffused. It hasn't lost its personality or meaning."
The biggest risk I’ve ever taken
“Going out on my own. But, I think that being a creative person, I felt like it was hard for me to be creative in a controlled, corporate environment where it was about creating what was safe and what made money. There was very little risk taken in the product. I knew there was something missing. I felt like the fashion world had gotten very safe and commercial. There wasn’t enough emotion in the product that I was seeing out there. I wanted to feel that again. I think we need more people to make trends, to have a point of view, and not just follow what everyone else is doing because that’s what they think they need to do.”
What beauty means to me
"I find beauty in imperfections. The most beautiful people are the ones that possess something unique that makes them stand out."
