Nicholas Kirkwood Hates Shower Shoes

Photo: Courtesy of Nicholas Kirkwood

This is the scene at Nicholas Kirkwood's pop-up Paris showroom: Susie Bubble flits past one table of candy-colored loafers, cooing "Oh, yes!" at the shoes in an excited gasp. Another online style star, the Belgian blonde Natalie Joos, studies Kirkwood's new pile of heels with scientific reverence, as if they were pinned butterflies. Gusts of gushing editors, stylists, and buyers swoosh through the room, with more than a few stopping to reverently touch a leather sole. (Perhaps it brings good luck?)

Meanwhile, stiletto wunderkind Nicholas Kirkwood drifts serenely among the fashion cliques, saying hello, waving goodbye, and embracing many of his London friends with bear hugs. As for, we didn't get a big embrace (sad!) but we did get some great intel on his newest sole mate, LVMH, which just invested in his label.

It's difficult to talk about money, isn't it? Even though the news about LVMH is fantastic.
That's why I call it "getting an investor!"
Exactly! But in the simplest terms, how did you get LVMH to buy a stake in your company? Did they call you and say, "Hi, we love your shoes. Can we fund you?"
Actually, yes, kind of! I mean, that's not how they put it on the phone, but yes. We met some people [at LVMH] who said that potentially, they could invest in us. They asked, "Can you come to Paris and meet us?" We didn't know any more than that, but I said, "Well, might as well, sure!" So I met with them, and I realized they're really the right kind of partner and the right kind of people to work with us.
Sometimes when a big company invests in an independent designer, there are concerns that creativity could be jeopardized. Are you nervous about that?
Honestly, no, not at all. We all have the same goal, and so it's not about what we want and what [LVMH] wants—we all want the same thing! So I'm really confident about the partnership.
These new heels of yours feel so lightweight!
Yes! Thank you! Some of them are really light and some of them are really heavy; but with the heavy ones, I promise, I'm working on them.
Why is a heavy shoe such a problem? Because you can't pack as many when you travel?
No, it's much simpler than that. When you wear lighter shoes, they are more comfortable. And with these China-made shoes, they put so much stuff inside them that you don't need that they make [parts of] the shoe stick out and feel hard. But when you're using finer leathers, you don't need to do so much of that. It will turn out lighter because the materials are better.
You made a chunky sandal for spring 2014. But what do you think of the shower shoe trend?
Uh…[Laughs] No. Sophia [Webster, the designer who began her career assisting Kirkwood] has been working on that one but I'm not about to make a pair. I personally prefer not to wear shoes in the shower—I never have! But those jelly shoes, I'm not about them. I don't see the reason for them, really.
A lot of the shoes in this showroom are on the wall in frames. Is that because you want your customers to Instagram their shoes?
I swear, that's not what I thought when we set up. They do look quite good, but that wasn't my idea! They're made to be worn, my shoes.
When we first sat down, you immediately glanced at my shoes. Is that a habit of yours when you first encounter someone?
It is! I try not to do it, because people tend to get self-conscious. Everyone is like, "Nicholas, stop looking at my feet right now!" And I'm like, "I can't help it! I'm not judging you!"
Oh, come on. Not even a little bit?
It's not a conscious thing! I'm not thinking, "Oh, her shoes are this way" or "her shoes are that way," I swear. It's like my body just does that unconscious reaction every time I see shoes. I need to look at them. I can't help it!