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You Know Him, You Love Him, You Wear Him!

Writer's picture: Chloe Yurie HaChloe Yurie Ha

This past Monday evening, FashionX and BASES had the honor of hosting the famous Stuart Weitzman–former CEO of the women’s shoe brand “Stuart Weitzman.” In his talk, he brought up 9 major points and featured his most accomplished products including an advertisement with Kate Moss, a “million dollar shoe,” as being labeled “best dressed” at this year’s Oscars in a red platform heel worn by Cara Delevingne.


Stuart is a wearer of many hats (or should I say shoes), but above all he emphasized this idea of imagination, referencing how every great designer or creator knows their goal, and will do things out of the box to get there. He also mentioned this idea that his company is 75% evolutionary and 25% revolutionary–without both components, his shoe company wouldn’t have been as successful long-term.


For those of you that missed his talk, let’s start at the beginning: (1) Risk.

Risk taking has great rewards, and Stuart mentioned how without risk, no one would improve. He also found that early stage (risky) actions gave him the reputation that he has today–long lasting, comfortable, high-luxury shoes.


(2) Imagination

Stuart mentioned this idea of “get it back,” and that imagination is what sets you apart from others. He mentioned his campaign with Gigi Hadid, Joan Smalls, and Lily Aldridge posing in nude shoes mimicking a famous sculpture. It is seldom shoes are worn without any other item of clothing, yet this image Stuart created of nude heels in the nude skyrocketed his sales (even to this day).


(3) Inspiration

In his many campaigns, Stuart mentioned how some of his best designs had great muses–Marilyn Monroe for example. And this (extremely iconic) muse, he created the sling back metallic shoes–a pair now iconic to his brand. “When you have something that’s great, you want to make it iconic. And then it can become you.”


(4) You Can’t Do It Alone

As the CEO and designer, Stuart often tapped into his connections being a high-fashion luxury brand in order to manifest his ideas into videos, ads, and photos. He would get into contact with a person however many times removed from the main person he wanted to reach, and make it happen. In fact, this was how his most iconic video advertisement with Kate Moss was directed by James Franco!


(5) Solve a Problem

“The most efficient way to make your name is to solve a problem.” To Stuart, this was comfortable shoes for women, meant to last a long time, and meant to be worn at any time.



(6) Repetition

Time and time again, Stuart tried to get into one of the biggest malls in Hong Kong during his expansion, yet every time was denied. So what did he do? He used the people he knew to get the famous designer Zaha Hadid to design a unique shopping store and experience, and managed to get a spot into the IFC shopping mall. Without the use of trying and trying again, as well as utilizing his resources, he may never have gotten this opportunity.


(7) Perception

An example Stuart brought up were his “Cinderella Shoes”: with inspiration from Cinderella, Stuart made an all-plastic shoe meant to look like glass but priced it cheaper than its competitors such as Yves Saint Laurant. However, this gave the impression that these shoes were “cheap,” and “not as good quality” as its counter objects at YSL. Thus, in order to change this perception, he waited until the perfect opportunity to re-present these items to the public and market them higher than YSL to show that these shoes (despite being plastic) were still loyal to the high-luxury, glamorous, and high-quality shoes of Stuart Weitzman. With this ploy, he was able to increase sales and the general perception of his shoes.


(8) Be a part of the community

Although no longer the main CEO of Stuart Weitzman anymore, he said that “the coolest fashion comes from the streets, not the runway.” A major part of why Stuart devotes so much time to Universities such as this is because he appreciates the new visions coming from a younger generation. He wants to immerse himself into every community in order to see what impact his shoes have and can make.


Overall, Stuart Weitzman is not your average designer: he is a kind, insightful man who continues to give back to the community that he once helped build. During our conversation at dinner, we made an effort to get to know everyone around the table, give insight and advice onto what he believes would be a great way to tap into the industry, and spoke about his views on the latest “data analytics and technology” and the limitations they can have. When the night was over, I walked out of that room with three more shoes in my Stuart Weitzman shopping cart, and a newfound appreciation for the kind of person he is.


With Love,

Chloe




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