In his well-worn jeans and beaten-up boots, there’s something deliciously uncliched about ad-exec turned shoe designer Rupert Sanderson.

Beautifully crafted, wearable, and understatedly sensual, his creations antithesise pumped-up frivolity. They are shoes for modern, empowered women who want to look and feel great. It’s exactly this kind of woman who shops at Matches, and who might team her cropped chinos with a pair of Rupert’s brogues, or wear his SS10 demi stilettos with a softly draped dress, or directional tailoring.

“The Rupert Sanderson woman has confidence in what she wears, and knows how she wants to present herself” he explains. “She’s cleverer about fashion, dressing with purpose. I suppose I just design for the women I know and spend time with.”

It was either “a moment of madness or divine inspiration” that prompted Rupert to ditch his advertising career and enrol at Cordwainers College, spending a summer riding his motorbike around Italy, visiting shoe factories.  The craftsmanship he observed there is clearly central to his work.

Yet a quintessentially British restraint shapes his aesthetic. “I seem to have an inbuilt restrictor preventing everything but the essential…

“Less is more. I don’t believe in just sticking a crystal on the top of a shoe for the sake of it. Frivolity is great; I love women looking and feeling fantastic and if that’s how they achieve it fine. But I’m not sure that’s the person I design for.”

What inspires him? “I love the style of Mad Men,” he says (wonder if it brings back memories of his days as an ad exec…) “that city chic look, and the shoes of that era. I love the way women dressed in the 50s and 60s, when they first started having positions of power.”

Asked about his relationship with Matches he is full of praise: “Matches is an institution in the fashion world, hugely respected worldwide as a truly great retailer. It stands out in so many ways, from the stores, to its website.

“Matches can have its pick of designers. So I’m very flattered to be here!”

We return the compliment, Rupert!

Click here to shop Rupert Sanderson

Tags: Rupert Sanderson, Women

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 27th, 2010 at 11:52 am and is filed under Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.