Why are you a shoe maker?

It’s really by chance! The first shoes I made were to complete the silhouettes of my end of studies collection in Barcelona. In the French Federation of footwear, they saw my job and they invited me to show it at IMAGINE space in the MIDEC saloon, that’s when I started to work as an apprentice of Aris, the leading authorithy in shoes in Paris. He taught me all there is to know about footwear.

Is it very difficult to learn your job?

I like to think that in an artisan work as mine, you never stop learning things. There are always techniques and ways of working that other people can teach you.

How long does it take you to develop a shoe? Can you describe the process?

I made all my shoes myself, so the process is very different from the big chains. From design to finish, the steps are: work on the outsole or the heel, pattern design, arranging, cutting, assembling, and adding the sole. The time of making this really depends on the style, but it would approximately take forty working hours.

Did you already make the perfect shoe?

I really hope to have done it several times… it depends on who it is for or for which occasion it is. I think that one perfect shoe for an occasion stops being perfect for another one, right?

What is the perfect height for a heel?

It is said that the good one for a good position of the body is about 3 cm.

Which is your favourite kind of shoe?

As I said earlier, it depends on the occasion and the person who wears it!

I am more interested by the search of materials and the balance of a shoe than its style. I really enjoy seeing where one material or another leads me over the sole.

Where do you manufacture? 

I manufacture myself for the “made to measure” styles or the prototypes. For small series or for the catwalks, I work with a small workshop where everything is also made by hand.

What is beauty for you?

Oh my God! It depends on the eyes that look at her!!

Pictures: Oskar Alvarado

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