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Designers are rare birds. Some flock to a minimal aesthetic with smart, sleek designs. Others migrate toward a feminine, girly look season after season. And a few get noticed for their high-charged use of color and wild prints (think Etro, Todd Oldham and Betsey Johnson).
Shoe designer Beverly Feldman is a tough bird - who's very private. When asked about her background, her only response is, "Shoe design!" But do enough digging, and Feldman reveals that she grew up in a small, conservative New England town, probably not the ideal setting for a flamboyant woman who personally pairs leopard-print tops and bright-gold flats with her platinum hair.
Feldman moved across the pond at age 23, and has lived and worked all over Europe and Asia (her primary source of inspiration) ever since. Today, she designs her colorful collections working out of a studio in Alicante, Spain. From there, she may not be as visible as other high-profile shoe designers, but it's only because she chooses to maintain a low profile and let her designs ex how she feels.
Her wildly colorful creations certainly do plenty of talking. So much so, the TV show "CSI: NY" featured one of her stilettos as a murder weapon.
"I started designing when I was 23 and am now 58 years old," she says. "I believe to reach eternal youth you must be young at heart." That's why she sticks with her company motto and personal mantra: Too much is never enough.
When asked what her design philosophy is, she thinks for a moment and coyly replies, "It has to catch your attention. It has to be irresistible. I want to create something that doesn't exist that women will want. She has to see it and want to buy it, whether she's 13 or 86."
That means shoes with bright, colorful prints paired with sexy embellishments such as glitter, studs, jewels, chains and rosettes.
Looking forward, Feldman is now entering the handbag arena and launching her first line of bags for spring 2006. And with many of them matching her shoes, they scream to be noticed.
"My bags are great, cause you know ... they're Beverly Feldman handbags," she says. "How can you describe that too much is not enough?"
Feldman's over-the-top creations appeal to fashion fans who look for something unique. "I have a very broad collection that is very detail-oriented," she says. "That means that every season there's a new theme. I don't want to be mundane. To me, that means everybody thinks it's commercial."
With her spring line of shoes and bags titled "Aloha, My Diva," Feldman needn't worry about becoming too commercial anytime soon.
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SHOPBOX
Beverly Feldman shoes can be found in the designer's namesake boutiques in New York and Ibiza, Spain.
You can also buy them online at www.beverlyfeldmanshoes.com.
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(c) 2005, The Dallas Morning News. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service.
