British shoe designer, editor and stylist Tabitha Simmons jetted into Holt Renfrew Vancouver just days after attending last week’s Met Gala in New York to show off pieces from her recent shoe collection to a handful of bloggers and journalists.
The utterly charming, down-to-earth and quintessential English former model was in town to talk about a shoe line with delicate and sophisticated hints of feminine touches.
“I love flowers,” Simmons admitted sheepishly as she talked about her trajectory in the fashion world. She was wearing a stunning black Dolce & Gabbana rose-print calf-length dress. In less-skilled hands the outfit might have looked a bit too dramatic for a breakfast event on the West Coast, but Simmons pulled it off expertly with little jewelry, sleek middle-parted hair and strappy black heels from her collection.
Simmons started her foray into the fashion biz with a Saturday job in a shoe store when she was a teenager. Eventually, she was scouted as a model, a career that she boldly stated wasn’t really her thing.
“I was a terrible model,” she admitted with a laugh.
But she had no trouble understanding how to whip together a great-looking outfit. That skill took her from the runway to the editorial department and behind the scenes, where she honed her styling skills with legendary lines such as Alexander McQueen, Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein. By 2009 she stepped it up a notch, debuting her own namesake footwear line with an aim to make classic collections that go beyond what’s trendy for a single season.
“[I design] not just for one season – that’s something that is so important to me,” she said. “I wanted to create a shoe line that’s much more timeless.”
Her personal favourite from the line at Holt Renfrew? The Vera – a black flat with delicate embroidered flowers and an ankle strap.
Another stand-out is the Reed open-toe bootie with cut-out sides and a lace-up front in an English Garden print. The statement shoe would bring drama and beauty to any look.
The Alexa is named after fashion muse and style hero Alexa Chung, who happened to compliment Simmons on her shoes when she was wearing a pair of test shoes (Simmons tests every pair before they go into production). The functional and sophisticated gold and white pointed flats would work from this season through to the fall – and beyond. Along with Chung, other celebrity followers include Charlize Theron, Karlie Kloss, and Julianne Moore.
With a price point that starts at $600 the shoes are definitely investment pieces – but they are quality made, crafted by master cobblers in Italy with high-quality leathers and suedes.
With her background in styling for a broad range of brands – it’s a big leap from Dolce & Gabbana’s baroque European sensibilities to Calvin Klein’s American minimalism, Simmons talked about how each fashion brand has its own DNA.
Seven years later, she’s seeing how her own line is taking shape – how it’s creating a trademark DNA that other people are recognizing.
“It’s nice because now people say, ‘Oh, I see that’s a Tabitha Simmons shoe.’ And that happens over time,” she said with a smile that rarely leaves her face during the shoe line preview.
For a hint of that English-inspired beauty, check out the latest footwear pieces from Tabitha Simmons at Holt Renfrew.
