StyleNest talks to the woman behind La Paire, Amy La to chat sandals, Sydney and Selfridges.
A boutique brand offering handmade leather sandals, La Paire offers elegant and sophisticated sandals made from only the most sumptuous of leathers. Flats are a must for SS14 and these commute friendly shoes will take you from home to abroad and from summer into autumn.
Before you launched La Paire, you had a career in finance and buying. Do you think your previous career has helped you with your business today?
My previous careers, particularly in retail buying, have definitely helped me understand all the different elements that brings this business together – from product development and design, marketing and administration and processing orders to sales. The latter items have never been my strongest points but when you’re running a business on your own, you have no choice but to do everything and I can say that I’m a lot more confident and better at it now. Fashion is tough, especially if you haven’t worked in the industry before and I still have a lot to learn but these skills have certainly been vital in the process.
What inspires you with your designs? Is it trends, people, places?
Lots of things inspire me – it could be anything from a colour or interesting shapes and patterns to doorknobs, architecture or a place. These things tend to capture my attention first and this is usually where the design concept starts. My debut collection was influenced a lot by bright colours and memorable summer holidays while the inspiration for the second collection drew heavily from Rome itself – its architecture, patterns and motifs. Our latest collection, Arabesque, was inspired by the namesake – Arabesque is an ancient form of artistic decoration characterised by evocative scrolling and interlacing foliage. An example of this art form can be seen in Iznik tiles, which feature colourful and intricate foliage patterns.
What advice would you give to young and aspiring designers?
Develop a product that you absolutely believe in and push your ideas. Fashion is tough, especially if you haven’t worked in the industry before but with starting any sort of business, it’s always going to be extremely challenging and there’ll be many obstacles along the way. But once you accomplish something, it’s the sense of achievement that gives you the energy and tenacity to drive forward. And try to have a little fun in with it.
You were born in Australia but now are based in London. Where do you call home?
London is my home now, but I do miss my family and friends that I grew up with. I wished Sydney was closer as I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the long-haul flight. But I feel very settled here after eight years and have grown to love it even more every year. It’s an incredible city with so much to offer and Europe is just next-door.
How would you describe the “La Paire Woman”?
She’s happy, stylish, loves having fun, and isn’t afraid to take risks.
You specialise in designing handmade leather sandals and have recently brought out a line of ballet pumps. Can we see the La Paire collection developing any further next season?
Our ballet pumps are still quite new so I’d like to have the range established first before we develop another product range. These have been well received so far by both customers and press, which has been very encouraging. I would love to introduce handbags in the near future so watch this space.
If you could dress any woman who would it be?
I would have loved to design for Audrey Hepburn. She had impeccable taste and was so chic. Her style was quite simple but elegant and timeless, just like our shoes.
I also love Diane Kruger and Miranda Kerr – they always look very cool and understated, whether casually or formally dressed.
Out of all your collections, is there a particular sandal you are proud of the most?
I have two actually – The Barca in black & gold was the very first one I designed and to this day, it’s still our top-selling style. Black and gold is such a classic combination and with the soft snakeskin print on the gold leather, women just seem to love this sandal. The other sandal is The Viola, which is part of our new collection. My design process has certainly developed in complexity, and detail this season and I love the scalloping detail of this style.
You use fine leather, can you tell us a little but more about the sourcing of materials?
We source our leathers from Spain. Our factory is here and they work with mainly Spanish leather merchants who produce one of the softest leathers and suedes. They also have very good relationships with them, which makes the sourcing process easier and quicker.
Can you give our readers insight into any exciting projects or collaborations you might be working on now or the future?
All the photography on our website is done in-house but we’ve recently decided to look at collaborating with a few freelance photographers/bloggers to further develop our creativeness and online imagery. I can’t say too much right now but they are projects that I’m very excited about.
Fashion week has just finished, can you let our readers know about some of the emerging trends for AW14 that will be influencing your designs?
Our designs and colour-ways are influenced by our theme rather than what other designers are doing but in saying this, there always seems to be one or two pieces from our collection that hit the trend. The theme for our AW14 collection is “dusk” where some of our shoe colours/materials are in champagne, blue and glitter, which are actually big trends for the coming season.
What is it about London style that sets it apart from other cities?
Londoners, both the people and designers, are quite daring and are not afraid to experiment when it comes to fashion. Labels such as Alexander McQueen, Mary Katrantzou and Roksanda Ilincic embody these attributes – from the fine structural detail of McQueen, original and striking prints of Katrantzou to the bold colours and designs of Roksanda’s dresses.
Which designers do you admire in particular?
I adore both Rupert Sanderson and Charlotte Dellal for their shoe designs. His shoes are always such beautiful classic styles with a bit of an edge. Charlotte is so creative and playful with her designs – they’re like pieces of art and something you want to display rather then wear! It can be difficult coming up with new designs and I think it’s incredible how both these designers manage to do it for each season.
Living in London, what are your favourite restaurants, shops and cafes?
In terms of food (which I love), I have a few firm favourites – Hawksmoor for steak, Cecconis for their old-world charm and lobster spaghetti, Huong Viet for pho (famous Vietnamese beef noodle soup), Barrafina for fantastic tapas, Atari-Ya for sushi, and Café Gourmand, a great little cafe in Soho that’s perfect for either a coffee, quick lunch or even dinner.
There are so many places for food in London and more restaurants keep opening, which makes it impossible to keep up with. I don’t eat out as often these days but have recently tried these places, which I’ll definitely be going back to: Little Social – the décor is very Parisian, which suits me down to a T as I love all things French and the food was divine; Donostia – a great alternative to Barrafina and better yet, they take bookings; and The Tiroler Hut, a really fun restaurant with delicious food, perfect on a cold winter’s night.
As for shops, I love the variety that both Selfridges and Liberty department stores offer, Topshop in Oxford Circus, Anthropologie (their visual merchandising is stunning and I just love looking at everything in here) and the various homeware stores along Golborne Road in west London.
When you’re not busy working, what do you do to unwind and relax?
I find cooking relaxing and I love to cook up a roast or try a new recipe on weekends. Being sprawled out on the sofa with a good book or magazines is another thing I try to do a couple of times a week. With a busy schedule these days, it’s the simple pleasures that I really enjoy now.
Click here for your chance to win two pairs of La Paire shoes.