Aquazzura fetes second collaboration with Claudia Schiffer
“If I think that I’m in my store in Milan – that I never thought I would have – with one of the most beautiful women in the world, [whom] I designed the collection with, it’s like a dream come true and I couldn’t have asked for more,” said Colombian designer Edgardo Osorio while looking at Claudia Schiffer on Tuesday.
Aquazzura’s founder and creative director was joined by the German supermodel at the brand’s Milanese store to celebrate the second drop of the limited-edition “Claudia Schiffer for Aquazzura” footwear capsule collection.
For fall 2018, it follows the eight shoe styles presented last year at the Hôtel d’Evreux during Paris Fashion Week, which marked the debut of the partnership.
“We were introduced at a dinner and we discovered we have a lot in common, we love the same things and [it was] one of those things where you just click with someone and you know that something is going to work out,” recalled Osorio about his first encounter with Schiffer. On her end, the model said she was already admiring the designer and “wearing lots of his shoes” even before meeting him.
“The first collection [we did] was more of a summer collection…and we didn’t have the chance to really explore boots and booties, which is obviously something Claudia loves and wears,” continued Osorio.
Taking inspiration from the late Eighties and Nineties, the duo’s latest lineup comprises statement styles including the Bowie knee-high boot with contrasting leopard and tiger-patterned prints; the high-heeled Debbie bootie embellished with buckles and available in black patent leather and silver Lurex, and the Nena Ballet flat in leopard print with studded ankle straps.
In particular, at the launch event Schiffer wore the Nena pump option with an animalier motif, which she paired with a black, tight tulle dress and a leopard-printed clutch.
Asked about what she looks for in a shoe, Schiffer said, “It has to look great and it has to be super comfortable. I never want to suffer in great shoes and all of Edgardo’s shoes are super comfortable, even the high ones.”
“If they are great shoes, you shouldn’t have to suffer, that’s the whole point,” echoed the designer. “I love women and for me it’s so important — if you don’t feel good, you don’t really look good….So for me it’s very important to have a balance and to mix both. The shoe first needs to be gorgeous because if it’s not beautiful you’re not even going to try it on, but once you are, you want to walk in it, live in it and enjoy it to have a good memory of the shoe and also to come back to buy another pair.”
Osorio’s designs are attracting an increasing number of fans, including a certain actress-turned-Duchess of Sussex who has been seen wearing his heels on multiple occasions, from her engagement announcement to Prince Harry to the widely watched Royal Wedding.
“I’m the luckiest boy in the world. Honestly, I’m just very thankful and it just means I need to work extra hard to keep up [with all this],” said Osorio, who said that it’s “wonderful to have incredible women like Claudia [Schiffer] and the Duchess of Sussex wearing the shoes, it’s been an incredible honor.”
“But also I have so many friends that whenever I see them, they’re saying: ‘Oh my God, you worked with Aquazzura, how can I meet Edgardo?’ And it’s just like I met some rock star. It’s amazing, this whole following,” Schiffer said.
Asked if there could be any men’s style for Prince Harry in the future, Osorio revealed with a smile that he will launch his first men’s footwear offering next year, but “in a small way.”
“It’s always been my dream to do a little bit of men’s. I have launched now the sneaker, which is unisex, but we’re only selling it for women at the moment. I’m hoping that at the beginning of next year we will also sell the men’s and maybe something else, that’s a surprise,” he concluded.
In addition to the women’s styles, the brand offers the Aquazzura Mini line for young girls, which debuted in June 2016.
Founded in 2011, the Florence-based footwear label is available in more than 58 countries and counts flagships in locations including London, New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Moscow, Dubai and São Paulo, among others.
