I've been designing shoes a long time. As in almost twenty five years long, and in that time I've seen many a trend come and go (see crocs as one obvious example- controversially still not a fan, sorry croc-lovers). Heels are in, heels are out, elegance is out, chunky is in...elegance is back in- you get the idea. Many years ago I was a freelance footwear designer for several suppliers who would make shoes for a number of high street brands, and back then it was all about copycat fashion. When Prada or Miu Miu, for example, launched something truly original, the race would be on to see who could recreate a high street version fastest and cheapest and get it onto the shelves first.
Now don't get me wrong it was fun. A highlight which sticks in my memory is a trip to Milan with the company credit card, no budget and the brief to buy whatever I needed to develop a collection (now that was a lot of fun- remember the scene in Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts walks down the street with designer bags draped off both arms? You've got it). We'd buy samples and take a tonne of undercover photos (this was a long time before social media made it acceptable to take photos of stuff in shops, back then it was only really designers who did that so it was pretty obvious what you were up to!), and send designs based on both to our factories to recreate or, erm.. 'be inspired by'.
Obviously this wasn't all my clients and there's a big difference between copycat fashion and keeping up to date with current trends, but after several years of this I started to find it all just a bit, well, samey. I worked in house for a well known high street brand for a couple of years and whilst it was I had some amazing experiences (and met some wonderful people along the way), every design idea had to be justified by who else was doing it, because their customers aspired to designer brands. I always knew I wanted to do my own thing so that's how Rachel Simpson came about.
Contrary to what you might think, I didn't have longstanding aspirations to design wedding shoes- more like, I saw a gap in the market and fell head first into it! At the time I was making bespoke shoes alongside my freelance design and most of the commissions I received were for wedding shoes, so that's how I ended up in the bridal industry. However, since day one I've never wanted to design shoes you can only wear once, before boxing them up and shoving them to the back of the wardrobe to get dusty. A beautiful pair of shoes deserves to be worn and admired and surely if they make you feel amazing on your wedding day you want to recreate that feeling as many times as possible? Sure, it's 'only a pair of shoes', but I genuinely believe that a fabulous pair of shoes can give you a real boost of confidence (especially if they're a perfect fit and super comfy as well as a great design) and make you feel amazing.
I design all my shoes with this in mind and try to get the balance between 'once in a lifetime' wow factor and every day wearability. It's not always a 50/50 split and sometimes I'll design a shoe which is very definitely an occasion shoe, and similarly sometimes I'll go a little more laid back, but my designs always work for both scenarios- a special occasion or simply to elevate your every day outfit. This versatile design gives you both beautiful style and practicality, ensuring you get maximum value from your shoes. With a focus on sustainable fashion, my designs are made to be worn again and again and be just as relevant each time- whether it's your wedding day, a party with friends or you just need a confidence boost for a big meeting. I mean good shoes can't change your life but they're a rather beautiful place to start!
Love,
Rachel xx