British Shoe Designers to Watch Out For

British shoe designers are on the increase, pushing there designs to the limits to come up with unique cutting designs. One of the biggest new British shoe designers to watch out for is Terry de Havilland.

Terry de Havilland was introduced to the industry by his parents who were both shoe makers from the East End of London. He has been involved in the design and manufacture of footwear since the 1950s.

A secret marriage and a period in Rome saw Terry caught up in the social whirl around the filming of 'La Dolce Vita.' He became absorbed in the glamour surrounding this movie with stars such as Ava Gardner and Anita Ekberg who later proved to be a huge inspiration for him.

In 1960 Terry returned to London to help with the family business and it was soon made apparent that he had a unique talent for design and pattern cutting. With Terry's drive and flair and the creation of winkle pickers the family business thrived. His big break was when Annie Traherne, the Fashion Editor of Queen Magazine, discovered his talent and decided to support his career.

Terry made up some snakeskin, three-tiered, wedge sandals and showed them to his friend Johnny Moke and bought them for his boutique in Kensington. The shoes were a huge success and made regular customers from the Rock n Roll scene including Bianca Jagger, Cher, LuLu, and most memorably David Bowie.

In 1970 Terry de Havilland took over the family business due to his father's death, caused by an accident in the factory. The Terry de Havilland styles gained recognition and the customer base grew and grew. In 1972 he opened his own store 'Cobblers to the World' on the Kings Road in London Chelsea. It was the first of its kind with mirrored walls and over-sized chandeliers, a far cry from the glamour-less Doc Martin trend being embraced at that time.

Terry emerged with new partners in 2004 to re launch the Terry de Havilland brand to huge critical acclaim by the fashion press and retailers. His collection is now stocked by many of the World's finest retailers.

Today Terry's designer shoes can be seen on celebs such as Amy Winehouse who's been seen in his 'Pop Art' style mule, with each shoe being hand-painted. Other celebrities who have been spotted wearing his designs include Kate Moss who wore a black pair of his peep toe wedge sandals as well as owning many other of his designs, Mischa Barton, who wore his gold leather wedge sandals, and Keisha from the Sugababes, who has been seen in his butterfly wedges.

Nikki Beukes is fashion editor at Shudoo