Sophia Webster
In 2012, Sophia Webster started her namesake color-jammed shoe line, a quick hit out of the starting gate. Inspiration for her quirky styles — such as banana print slides ($350), angel-wing slingback heels ($480) and watermelon wedges ($460) — comes from her love for drawing.
“Drawing is my favorite part of being a shoe designer, and I think it’s what I’m best at,” she says. “So I try to find ways to bring that into my shoes very directly, such as printing and illustrating onto the uppers.”
Take, for instance, the banana slide shoe from Webster’s most recent collection, sold at fine department stores. “I wanted to do something unexpected and fun along with something that is very familiar, so I started layering little bananas onto the upper [part] like emojis, and it looked cute,” she says.
Webster’s favorite shoe from her current spring collection? “I love my Riko Mule, the colors are really vibrant and I was delighted to find they glow under UV light,” she says, describing the high-heeled shoe in orchid leather accented with black suede and bubblegum pink zig-zags and woven aqua patent leather detailing.
Is all this lighthearted, confectionary-colored shoe play a diversion from the hard work she says it takes to build a global brand? “I think to be taken seriously as a creative you need to be the hardest-working person on Earth,” Webster says. “So it’s hard to find time for fun, although doing fun designs is a good way to brighten the day.”