Finally, Shoes We Can Wear All Day

So you believe flats can be as glamorous as heels?
Jasmine: "Absolutely!! If you look at the runway trends over the past few seasons, designers have been phasing out the high heels models can’t even walk in. Women are wearing flats or kitten heels on the red carpet now, and looking sexy, confident and glamorous while doing so. Women look better when they feel confident and empowered. Footwear is an expression, what you wear on your feet is a reflection of how you feel inside."

Tamara: "These days, the front row have their feet firmly on the ground, in glamorous loafers, dainty pointy-toed flats, sneakers or luxe sport slides. It seems, high fashion no longer requires high heels. With a lot of focus on fashionable flat shoes, designs have become more embellished and unique but glamour also comes down to attitude – a woman can make an entrance with her energy and how she carries herself."

Do you remember the first pair of shoes you loved?
Jasmine: "It was a pair of silver platform wedges, I wanted to be like the Spice Girls. I also owned Dr Martens made out of clear PVC so you could wear different coloured socks underneath every day depending on what mood you were in. The same time mood rings were huge! How good were the ‘90s; Spice Girls, Doc Martens and mood rings. Pretty much sums it up."

Tamara: "I loved the look of a pair of my mother’s Manolo Blahnik’s. They were untouchable and heels were out of the question to wear at that age for me. They were elegant and minimal but in the most beautiful pop-colour ruby red."

What’s your design process?
Jasmine: "Initially, Tamie and I brainstorm the theme of the collection, colour palette, materials, shapes and styles we love. Tamie will then develop those ideas into a very broad range with so many options for us to explore. We then go through each detail and style together and cut this back into a smaller collection. This document is sent onto our development team to start the sampling process. We work closely alongside our development team on every detail of the samples and spend time in our factories times a year to create our collections each season."

How do you feel about your high-profile following?
Jasmine: "I suppose it’s a little like a band hearing their song on the radio. There’s an initial buzz but then you want to write another track or in our case, make another design that relates no matter where you are in the world. Of course it’s amazing from a public relations point of view but mostly it’s just reassuring that your designs transcend borders."

Your designs are quirky – what’s the most unusual thing that’s inspired you?
Jasmine: "We’ve got to the point where we seek out unusual things. By their nature “unusual" means not always seen, so for us it's about seeking and finding those inspirations wherever they may be. We find them in the form of bathroom tiles at a hotel in Los Angeles, a door knocker in Paris, or the skeletons from the Day of the Dead in Mexico."

THE DESIGNERS' FAVOURITES...