Shoe-stoppers!

It’s shoe-time, folks! Sole-searching’s got more fun and trendy as a brigade of young designers is making heads turn — to shoes. Adding new shine to shoemaking, which is yet to earn a glamorous standing in the Indian design firmament, these 20- and 30-something shoemakers are gaining a firm toe-hold in the market and crafting a new chapter with shoes that reflect their taste, style, quirks and attitude — in Banarasi silk and vegan leather, embroidered with phulkari and zardozi, hand-painted with filmi dialogues and Sholay’s Gabbar, and also customised to match your janam kundali!     

“It’s as much about hiding the foot as it is about revealing it,” believes the high priest of heels Manolo Blahnik. And this is what Delhi-based shoe designer Nayantara Sood swears by. Her label Taramay (a combination of her name and birth month) seeks to redefine the ‘Made in India’ tag in the luxury footwear market. From her signature studded, square-toed papillon flats to her Eiffel Tower flats in dull gold, Sood’s creations have found feet across the world. “Growing up and travelling in different parts of the world had a major influence on my designs. I like to concentrate on the cut, so as to show the foot best and then jazz it up with strong details.” Having studied footwear design at London College of Fashion, Sood also collaborated with coutouriers Ritu Kumar and Arjun Saluja. Her collection is an interesting mix of textures and prints, polka dots and nautical shoes, fold-over ankle boots and T-bar sandals. Her palette: exotic skin replicas in lipstick red, patent black, metallic gold.

Shoes are every woman’s special love, and not-so-secret fetish. As Carrie Bradshaw in Sex & the City admits, “I have this little substance abuse problem… expensive footwear.” Mumbai-based shoe designer Nirali Ruparel, founder of the label Achilles’ Heels, confidently asserts that men too belong to the same club. “Shoes are no more a woman’s monopoly, the new age man is catching up! I wanted to add something more to their shoe wardrobe besides the classic black Oxford or the brown Derby shoes,” she says.

Brogues and loafers made in pure or vegan leather, in shades of brown like coffee, tobacco, bark and tan, are her speciality. “Hues of browns are the new black. I also work with dusk blue, greyed jade, emerald, poppy red and other vibrant colours,” says Ruparel who specialises in men’s collections and aspires to be “a tastefully popular entrepreneur”. She shares, “My designs and shades allow for a free play of metrosexual machismo. I like to create designs that are a symbol of style, individuality, and breaking away from conformism. For me, it is not your sports car, expensive watch or cigar, but rather an elegant pair of shoes that maketh a man.” Her label tries to bridge the gap between luxury and premium brands in terms of pricing. “Targeting men between 18-45 years, our pricing ranges from Rs 4,000 to Rs 10,000 for the prêt collection and Rs 15,000 and above for custom-made footwear,” she says.

With so many talented youngsters entering the fray, it’s a tough task standing out in the crowd, and cementing one’s standing in the market. What does the trick is a bright idea. Shoe designer Swati Mehrotra reads the feet of her clients and customises astrological shoes aligned with their soles. Bespoke shoes for various occasions, zodiac shoes and shoe spas are what the 27-year-old promises for happy feet. “We study a client’s janam kundali (birth chart) and design astro shoes in the colour and fabric that would evoke positive energy in their lives. My design philosophy is based on chromopathy or the art of healing with colours. For instance, shoes designed for Cancerians are in white or silver, matching their lucky stone i.e. pearl. While shoes for Arians are flamboyant and in shades of red to suit their fiery personality,” says the designer who is a Salvatore Ferragamo fan. Mehrotra’s brand, Swati Modo, has created footwear to complement the collections of designers JJ Vallaya, Zubair Kirmani, Siddharth Tytler and Pia Pauro at Wills India Fashion Week.

Precise to the point of being finicky about design detailing and toe cleavage, Shruti Kaul Sachdeva customises shoes under her label Trishuli to match the fashion sensibilities of young consumers. “Designing a shoe is almost as difficult as putting a house together — a certain set-up and high-end shoe machinery is needed for crafting a well-finished shoe,” she says. Her wedges, blocks and stilettos, in pure silk, crepe and leather, are finely cut, hand-carved, and contemporary and chic in style. Her palette plays on vibrant neon hues with interesting prints, spikes and embroidery.

Talking about many young shoemakers collaborating with apparel designers, Shruti says such collaborations lead to increased awareness about the brand and help in design experimentation. “Although we get paid sufficiently for shoes made for ramp shows, the significant part of our earnings come from customised shoes we design for clients,” says Shruti who is known for her footwear with hand-embroidery, colour blocking, hand-painting and the use of material like wood, mother of pearl and rich fabrics like kid leather and Banarasi silk.

The sole journey

• Kolkata-based designer Rohan Arora’s hand-painted signature style speaks of a fondness for all things filmi and humorous — some of his shoes have dialogues from Bollywood blockbusters. His bright and beautifully detailed jootis are best paired with ethnic wear while his hand-painted shoes with Gabbar Singh and Thakur from Sholay are definite attention-grabbers.
• Delhi-based designer Neena Gupta Rath’s label Ticket TO Timbuktu (TTT) caters to “a woman who is ecologically-conscious, stands for causes and promotes ethical products”. The purchase of each shoe also benefits the artisan who has carved it and an organisation setting up libraries across schools in Ladakh. For every shoe TTT sells, Rath donates a book to the trust.
• Delhi-based shoe designer Alisha Bhasin, 25, designs hand-painted customised shoes under her label Al Artz collection. Inspired by pop artist Andy Warhol, Alisha likes to paint various moods and facets of her own personality on her shoes.