How a Broken Heel Led Model Hanne Gaby Odiele To Create a Line of Comfort Shoes
Hanne Gaby Odiele at the Matt Bernson shop. Photo: BFAnyc.com
“I had a shoe mishap,” said Hanne Gaby Odiele, the Belgian model known to grace every runway—every season—including Saint Laurent, Dries Van Noten Balenciaga et al., at shoe designer Matt Bernson’s roomy Tribeca shop on Tuesday night. Odiele was thinking back a year and a half ago to the Spring/Summer ‘14 shows in New York City when she was forced to hobble around from show to show after her heel fell apart. The impediment became a source of inspiration for a line of footwear created by Odiele and Bernson.
“We wanted to make a comfortable [shoe],” reflected Odiele of her first foray into design.
“And I don’t think they look like anything you’ve seen,” reflected Berson. “You can really see her influence here.”
This patent Odiele look (there’s a reason she’s such a street style favorite) turns up in cork-soled leather woven loafers, neoprene Teva-turned-downtown sandals, and just-slightly-off-kilter touches like foam detailing. Odiele says these styles reference vintage shoes and history books. “I’m like a history freak, so like history books for me, and even textures I saw on the streets [came into play],” said the model. “For the creeper, I wanted to make a pointy shoe that had the Renaissance [in it].”
Of course, with a decade in the business, Odiele has a deep familiarity with what’s out there in the accessories market—and who might wear the latest flat creations. “I have no beef with anybody, but I don’t know sometimes I feel like not the grandmother, but I’m definitely taking care of the young ones—the mother duck! I’m very happy with the girls that were in the shoot!” said Odiele. “[When we were designing], I had all of my friends in mind—a woman who knows what she wants, and she feels comfortable because she’s wearing them. She’s busy and cool. I’d say [she’s] New York, but it’s more than that.”
Fellow catwalkers Charlotte Free, Tilda Lindstam and Xiao Wen Ju can already be seen working the sandals downtown (and in look book images by Tommy Ton).
“They’re like the perfect to go shoe for summer, [for] like running errands, even sitting at home, for vacation,” said Odiele. “Every girl needs a shoe. And to be honest, handbags? [Go] get Alexander Wang. Or maybe that could be something [to design] in the future. But the shoes—it just happened.”