Interview: Stuart Weitzman and the shoes
Stuart Weitzman
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Mr. Weitzman, why does my friend have six pairs of shoes, but I have 54?
Stuart Weitzman: I guess because the average man has a terribly boring taste. He buys black and brown and is satisfied. Men simply lack any passion for shoes. For women, shoes are anchored in the subconscious, so to speak. Sometimes it seems to me that they have been brainwashed, they love shoes so much.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: And how do you imagine brainwashing?
Stuart Weitzman: Little girls grow up with stories about shoes: Cinderella finds her prince through a shoe, Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz" finds her way home with the help of magic shoes - shoes are symbols of strength and love in these stories. And until a girl is an adult woman and can buy shoes for herself, she has internalized that, apparently she is lost. , ,
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: But on the prince charming, most adult women are not likely to wait any longer - they still wear great shoes.
Stuart Weitzman: Women wear their shoes to emphasize their personality and to strengthen their self-confidence by showing how beautiful they are in their shoes. High-heeled shoes make them feel that nobody can help them.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: A pair of Stuart Weitzman high heels make a woman a diva?
Stuart Weitzman: No. How should a pair of shoes make a diva out of a woman? A woman is a goddess, or she is not, she is sexy, or she is not. And then you can not help an extravagant pair of shoes. A woman should not try to be something she is not, otherwise she will become a cartoon, not a diva.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Do I have a chance to look sexy and exciting with flat, simple shoes?
Stuart Weitzman: But of course. Nobody would seriously say that Audrey Hepburn was boring and unattractive. This woman has worn only ballerinas. And was admired without twelve-inch heels. The flat shoes fit much better to her nature than any glamorous highheel would have done.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: So for every woman, no matter what type, is there a perfect shoe?
Stuart Weitzman: Yes, I do believe it exists. I can not say how it is. It can be a sandal, a boot or a flip-flop - what is perfect depends only on the wearer. If you find a shoe that expresses what you want to portray, then you have found the perfect shoe for you, regardless of style, heel height, color or material.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Then the job of the shoe designer but can orientate on trends. Then psychology skills are required in the first place. , ,
Stuart Weitzman: That's right. When I design, I really do not think about crocodile leather, heels or the color green. I think of her.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: To me?
Stuart Weitzman: Yes, to you and the many other types of women that exist. I imagine a teacher and wonder what kind of shoe would suit her and what she will need it for. I think of a celebrity and think about which shoe she would like to buy and on what occasion she then wears it. Women can not prescribe the choice of their shoes anymore from fashion magazines. They wear what suits their attitude to life.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: A shoe for every mood, so to speak.
Stuart Weitzman: Exactly. And for every purpose. If you have an important appointment at the job, you will not be wearing black velvet pumps with a red flower on top. You want to be convincing, not fashionable. And that's exactly why women own 70 pairs of shoes - because they know just as many different moods.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Nevertheless, shoes did not always have that great importance they have today. When did this hysteria begin? And above all: why?
Stuart Weitzman: I am convinced that it all started with Imelda Marcos. Hardly anyone today remembers their husband, the Philippine president. But that Imelda Marcos was the owner of a gigantic shoe cabinet with over 1000 pairs of shoes, everyone knows that today.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Although this collection had something quite pathological - and Imelda Marcos, the lavish wife of a dictator, can not actually be a role model.
Stuart Weitzman: Of course, but it showed for the first time that a woman can become addicted to footwear. Later came series like "Sex and the City," which also focused on the important role that shoes play in the lives of young women and how they define themselves through a shoe brand.In addition, the fashion industry always explains certain shoes to "It-Shoes", the media show prominent women wearing these shoes, and already the whole female world wants them too. To look as sexy as the stars.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: To come back to the men: Do they even understand the message of Highheels? Most of them just shake their heads in disbelief and wonder how one can actually walk on these things.
Stuart Weitzman: It's also a legitimate question, if you've never had one yourself. And yet men, of course, notice how great a woman looks in great shoes: a beautiful leg becomes beautiful through her, a woman who looked good before looks fantastic in high heels. And she sends out a certain message when she appears in a slim skirt and high heels for the first date. Which man would not find that exciting?
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Maybe men find it intimidating.Stuart Weitzman: If the woman likes it, that's for sure. Do you remember the movie "Revelation"? There Demi Moore plays the boss of Michael Douglas and carries from the first to the last scene 120-millimeter paragraphs. I wonder why? To show their power. Why does Kim Cattrall always wear high heels in "Sex and the City", even though she's already a tall woman anyway? The answer again: power.ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: Honestly, do not women sometimes buy their shoes to impress other women?
Stuart Weitzman: Sometimes? In truth, that's the real and only reason why women buy shoes. To show other women that they know exactly what's hot, that they're younger than their passport, that they can make terrible money, and that they can match their sex appeal with that of Beyoncé.
ChroniquesDuVasteMonde: And now and then you buy a new couple to console themselves.
Stuart Weitzman: That should be better. If you feel bad, a new pair of shoes works the same way as a chocolate bar: it pushes you for ten minutes, then you feel as bad as you did before. And the only one who is comforted is the person who sold you the shoes.
