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MINNEAPOLIS
- Many shoe lovers own a pair of Stuart Weitzmans, but
they might not know much about the man behind the brand.
Thanks to
his father, Seymour, who had his own label, Weitzman
learned all about shoes at a young age. He is both
designer and engineer. His shoes are known for their
fit, available in 50 sizes, from 4 to 12 in four widths.
Celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Scarlett Johansson
are fans, and Weitzman has designed million-dollar diamond-embellished
heels for the Oscars.
Now
celebrating his eponymous shoe company’s 25th year,
Weitzman recently opened his company’s first
stand-alone boutique in Minnesota at the Mall of
America. We spoke to him while he was in Spain, where
his factories produce more than 2 million pairs of shoes
a year.
Q: What
shoes should women have in their wardrobes?
A: If a
woman loves a shoe, she will love wearing it, and
she’ll find ways to wear it. Right now, a
great-looking flat boot with a modern look and toe shape
and a fur boot that is fashionable, but functional. And
a plain pump or a heel, maybe it has a platform, maybe
it doesn’t. Pumps are the No. 1 dress shoe now,
probably because they haven’t been around for a long
time.
Q: How
high are heels now?
A: It’s
not like 20 years ago, when you had to have only this
toe shape and heel. I try to make a low heel look as
great as I do with a high series. As the heel goes down,
the sales go up — 3½ inches is easy to wear. Once you
get to 4 or 5 inches, you have to really want to wear
it and put up with some agony to look more beautiful.
Q: Any
hot colors?
A: A
scarlet red.
Q: Any
shoes you shouldn’t wear right now?
A: A
woman really shouldn’t wear footwear that is not her.
Have you seen “Forrest Gump”? Everybody knows the
“box of chocolates,” but a shoe guy remembers when (Gump)
was sitting on the bench and says, “You can tell about
a person by their shoes — where they’re going, where
they’ve been.” Girls are born into it, starting with
the pair of shoes in “Cinderella” to Judy
Garland’s red sequined shoes (in “The Wizard of
Oz”). Before you’re 15, you can’t wait to wear
your first pair of heels. Style-wise, there’s not too
much that goes out of fashion now. There are
fast-fashion trends: Everybody knows thigh-high boots
had their moment a few years ago.
Q: Tell
me about your Heritage shoe.
A: When I
was cleaning out the attic, I came upon an original
parchment design patent issued 80 years ago with a red
wax stamp with a ribbon through it, issued to Mr.
Seymour Weitzman. There was a sketch of a shoe from when
he was only 25 years old. I had never seen that design
with a different way to do straps on an instep. His was
made in canvas or silk material, and I made ours in
leather-stamp python and added a platform. Right now,
it’s our No. 2-selling shoe. I even put in for a
patent, and I just got the approval. It’s nice to make
it part of the family heirloom.
Q: What
about spring?
A: When
the economy or the world news is depressing, we tend to
make footwear that’s bright, lively and colorful.
We’ve made the shoes very happy. So next spring, we
did color-blocking in melons and sherbet and
exotic-looking cowhides.
Q: What
should we do to take care of our shoes?
A:
Putting the stuffer back in the front puts your shoe
back in shape that it’s supposed to be in. It takes 30
seconds, and it makes a difference. After wearing a boot
in humid or wet weather, you have to wipe it off with a
damp cloth. If its suede or Nubuck, a silicon spray to
protect the surface of the leather is great after every
five wearings.
Q: What
kind of shoes do you wear?
A: I
always buy a shoe that I like the way it looks. Then
when I put my foot in it, if it doesn’t feel great, it
goes back on the shelf.
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