From Heights To Heels

When Zaha Hadid tires of designing palaces, stadiums, opera houses and theatres, she shifts to designing shoe boutiques. Her collaboration with Stuart Weitzman is an example. We met Stuart in Milan.

Visiting Stuart Weitzman’s new boutique on Via San Andrea in Milan—the nerve centre of Italian luxury—is quite an extraordinary experience. On these streets, not a single day goes by without a luxury brand opening up a boutique, showcasing the latest concepts or avant-garde design. While people are looking forward to seeing Stuart Weitzman’s shoes, it is the new boutique that seems to be drawing all the attention. This is because the shoemaker has collaborated with renowned architect Zaha Hadid on the design of the store.

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Weitzman’s 100th store enjoys what is one of the most enviable addresses in the world and to create a space that was worthy of the location, Hadid used pearl grey, matte white and pink, in composite materials and refined lines. Space is the keyword here in this store, which opens out onto the road.

How did you manage to convince Zaha Hadid to work with you?

Stuart Weitzman : I wanted something special. I couldn’t imagine myself working with a designer who had already designed boutiques. That being said, my project was not really destined for Zaha Hadid. It was a very small-scale project. But she loves shoes. She even designed two pairs for two brands, Nude and Melissa. All I did was ask her if she’d prefer to see her favourite accessories showcased in a beautiful house rather than in a boring store. She told me that she would think about it.

Weren’t you worried about working with someone who is a novice in this domain?

Members from her team asked me every possible question under the sky in order to find out how a shoe boutique functioned. She then asked me what I wanted the boutique to look like. I didn’t want it to look like a regular shoe shop. I only wanted to feel like I was at the centre of the world of shoes. Just like when you go to an art gallery or museum and feel like you’ve been immersed in a world of art. At the end of the project, Zaha told me that she was as proud of this store as she was of the Museum of XXI Century Arts, which she designed in Rome.

How does such a store help you develop your presence across the globe?

These days, boutiques are an element of your brand’s development. They reflect your image. I have always wanted to do things that are surprising. For instance, setting up a store in a street where you’d least expect it, using supermodels like Natalia Vodianova or Kate Moss for my publicity campaigns, or providing footwear to stars like Jennifer Aniston, Beyoncé and Angelina Jolie.

Does this mean you are going to replicate Zaha Hadid’s concept across the globe?

No, it is most certainly not a chain of stores. Neither of us would want something like that. But I hope we have a few more stores. The next opening is in Hong Kong in 2014, followed by Madison Avenue, New York. Then there will be openings in Rome, Paris and London, probably in 2015.

From the January 2014 issue of L’Officiel India.