I had the opportunity to ask Deborah about how she
became a shoe designer, her typical day, and advice for
other aspiring shoe designers.
EFM: Can you tell us how your
passion of becoming a shoe designer began?
DL:
I studied shoe design at Parsons and somewhere
among the first 10 designs I realized that was what I
wanted to do. I loved the sculptural element, the
leathers, and the craftsmanship… and as a woman I can
never have enough shoes!
EFM: What is your typical day
like?
DL:
No days are really typical because I’m
traveling so much and because of the number of
characters involved they’re extremely diverse. When I’m
in NY and London it’s mostly about going between leather
and fabric appointments, press appointments, sales, and
the actual design process. In Italy it’s all about the
shoes and there my typical day is 4 hours of
patternmaking and sample alteration in the morning a
3-hour lunch and then the same again in the afternoon.
EFM: When designing a
shoe; can you tell us the process in detail?
DL:
It starts with fabric sourcing and the
illustrations, which could take me weeks but usually has
to be done in about 10 days so I have to know my
inspiration well in advance. The next stage is technical
drawings that show details of the heel, platform, inner
sole, upper, etc. Once this is done I go to Italy where
we cut the initial patterns and all the heels, soles,
and lasts (the mould the shoe is built on) go out to the
various factories to be made. From here it’s a few weeks
before you receive everything and then you can finish
the samples and make any corrections.
EFM: What inspires you to
design?
DL:
Music, art, film, club-kids, travel, people,
markets, fabrics…
EFM: Can you tell us what we
can expect to see for spring/summer 2010 collection?
DL:
Some higher heels… Metal… Lots of colour.
EFM: Are there any other
projects that you are currently working on?
DL:
A line of jackets called “Nonoo
Lyons” with a good friend.
EFM: What business advice can
you give to aspiring shoe designers?
DL:
Keep your costs as low as possible and your quality as
high as possible.
To view Deborah's
collections
www.mechanteoflondon.com/collection.html#imagesss09/09.jpg
and
www.mechanteoflondon.com
EFM
would like to thank Deborah's PR Stephanie Sachs from
Peoples Revolution
DEBROAH
LYONS
