Why did you decide to base yourself in France?
I live part of the time in a village called Les Houches, Chamonix, at the base of Mont Blanc in the French Alps. A while back my Kiwi partner and I found ourselves spending months apart at a time for our work — he is a yacht engineer and his work is based in Europe [while I was in New Zealand].
So we had to find a way we could spend more time together and still work in our respective fields. Ziera offered me the opportunity to work as a freelancer and we still return to New Zealand and spend time here. I guess we are split between two places. I do speak French, but not fluently yet. I am fluent in Spanish after working in Spain for Camper, which is handy as Ziera also employs a Spanish designer, Olaya.
How do you design for a brand on the other side of the world?
It works well because I work for an innovative and forward-thinking company. We have a great partnership, they know me well, and I have worked long enough as part of the Ziera team to understand the brand.
There are parts of my role that require me to work alone and have time to do some individual creative thinking, so being away from the office works in that respect. For material/ranging workshops and brainstorming of ideas I fly into NZ and join the wider team. Being able to Skype into group conferences, strategy meetings and catch up with my design leader makes working away from the office possible.
What's a typical day like?
I like to work to a fixed schedule with rigid boundaries. I wake up and check my emails, then often go for a walk in summer or a snowboard in winter. This helps me to process my emails and think creatively about my work before heading home to continue the working day. It may be research, creating mood boards, solving design problems, digital sketching or even filling in specification forms, depending on what part of the design process we are in.
What are some of the latest shoe trends?
We are still seeing the importance of 'athleisure' products, and more casual sports footwear. Comfort is becoming a trend. Consumers want to wear shoes and not compromise comfort for look.
Key stories for Spring/Summer 2017 are embroidery, global craft which incorporates weaves and textile patterns, laser patterns, florals and colour blocking.
How do you keep up with these trends?
I use a variety of sources to research. Being based in Europe is crucial to offering a different design/trend perspective.
I do a lot of market research in London, Paris and Mallorca. It’s not only about looking at stores, I like to sit in a cafe and watch what everyday people are wearing in the street.
I devour magazines: Zoom, Nylon, Frankie, l'officiel Accessories, Vogue UK and Elle UK as well as online resources like Li Edelkoort's conceptual trend tablet, Milk, and WGSN global trending website.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.The trending research goes hand in hand with customer research. At Ziera we listen to our customers’ feedback through our website, shops, customer club and surveys. It’s invaluable to inform our designs and range.
What impact do you believe you've made on the brand, and where would you like to take it?
I think coming from different brands prior to Ziera I offered some creative thinking and different design possibilities. I had worked for brands who did not have the same comfort offering as Ziera and had concentrated only really on aesthetic. Now I am further on in my career with Ziera, I feel I can offer a more knowledgeable stance on how to bring genuine comfort and aesthetics together to create footwear that women feel great in.
Ensuring comfort is obviously a big part of the design process. How difficult is it to do this on top of making the shoes look stylish?
This is the most challenging design job I have ever undertaken. Ensuring comfort and the look of the shoe are in balance is sometimes a challenge. Making this easier is a whole team of creative and technical designers with an astounding amount of knowledge and understanding about feet, footwear, leather and shoemaking.
During walking we place heavy loads on our feet, especially when we’re wearing heels. The heel impacts the ground sending that force through your body. Inadequate footwear can interfere with natural movement, increase fatigue, and cause injury and discomfort.
One recent development is the Ziera designer collection, for which we designed a cushioning system in tandem with a stylish heel. We also designed a flexi-fit system into the collection, so women can customise the shoe to get the fit just right.
