Are there any specific requirements in relation to sales height and strips?
Above all, he has to be sexy and have a nice cleavage. We have sold the ‘So Kate’ model from Louboutin very well for a very long time. This is a classic black pump with 12cm heels without a platform; So not a shoe for long ways, but rather for the few steps from the car to the restaurant and back. Kate Moss was the testimonial, hence the name. This shoe was incredibly sexy. But now the paragraph is moving down again. Most of the seven to eight cm are now taking place. Incidentally, slingbacks at this height are also very successful, especially from Gianvito Rossi.
You don’t need sneakers in the ‘shoe sky’?
I assume that everyone is well equipped with it, because this is the shoe that you use in everyday life if you want it to be comfortable.
How should the sneaker develop?
In the meantime, the sneaker has shown almost every face that can be imagined: from chunky to platform everything is already there. But now it is getting very flat again; These Super low profile sneakers also fit very well with the 90s aesthetics, which currently shapes fashion. Therefore, I believe that this new form is exactly the impulse that the sneaker market needs, because customers demand for it. This type of sneak could be a trend during the year and especially in summer.
What role does the shoe actually play in the outfit advice in your shops and when does it come into play?
It depends. From the outset, customers are often fixed on a certain shoe they saw and find it great. In winter we had a beautiful sandal with Louboutin mara bouquets. This shoe was almost a work of art. So we built everything else around him: you combine a simple black dress, maybe just a jeans and a T-shirt, because such a shoe is left the lead. Often you create the look from top to bottom; Then you first build a trouser suit or dress with a jacket – and only then the right shoe is added. Our teams generally act very strongly in the sense of an outfit idea and advise accordingly.
Can a shoe be such a prestige object like an expensive bag?
Absolutely! If it is an iconic model and the price is known, it can definitely keep up with a Chanel or Celine bag as a status symbol. For example, I am thinking of a biker boat from Miu Miu, very striking, with a lot of buckles. Everyone knew that if you wear this shoe, you paid 2000 euros for it. Of course, such a shoe is also a status symbol.
What role does the price play in your genre? Are there any limits?
Naturally. As is well known, the houses of the two large luxury groups overstretched the price topic. Our customers are quite sensitive in terms of prices. You want to see an appropriate equivalent. Exotic leather or crystal applications naturally lead to higher prices; But basically we don’t participate. Our credo is Value for Money.
When is it your turn at the order?
The shoe order is one of the first appointments; We often order shoes before we saw Ready-to-Wear. Therefore, before the shoe order, we already need to know in which direction we want to go, as well as when it comes to the colors.
Does it also occur that you are based on the shoes that follow the ready-to-wear order?
Yes, quite. Even if I don’t take pictures of the models ordered, I always make it ‘mental pictures’ of it; The outstanding models of the shoe companies
So I have in my head. For example, if I bought a blue Marabu shoe from Louboutin, of course I make sure that I also have suitable tops.
Are shoes and bags actually also tools with which you address target groups that could not otherwise buy from you?
Absolutely. A great shoe or a nice bag also work if, for example, with the range of sizes offered by the designers, you have not caught up or switched the size of one season to the next. A shoe or a bag is something that stays practically under all circumstances. That is also why the shoe and handbag are good business and wide.
What are the current IT-Pieces in handbags?
These are essentially the East-West or Baguette forms, derived from Alaïa or Fendi bags. There is also a MIU Miu model in this format that I would currently call our most important IT bag.
Is there anything you want from the ongoing shoe and ready-to-wear order?
I wish for a novelty value! This is not only our wish, but above all the wish of the end consumers. And by that I mean real innovations
– and not new editions in other colors. This is something that the market definitely needs; And basically it also needs a new look, because we have lacked designer fashion for some season.
How do you explain this standstill?
It is a very human reaction to difficult times. In addition, the large design houses have not changed their stylists for a long time. But that is changing, whether with Dior, Celine or Fendi, there is a lot in transition here. A lot will happen in the course of the second half of the year and we will see a lot of new things. The effect of a designer change has recently been seen at Chloé: the new designer has changed the look – and the press and end consumers love him. It is often just fresh wind that is missing.
So can we look optimistically into the future in terms of innovations?
The designer carousel in the luxury area rotates. I think it will be exciting.
