Zanotti shoes, worth coveting

He is known for his strappy, bejewelled, high-heeled shoes and an impressive list of celebrity clients like Rihanna, Beyoncé and Cameron Diaz. Giuseppe Zanotti talks to tabloid!

"I'm ready," he quipped as he tamed a wild strand that had strayed from the rest of his greyish-white mane.

Giuseppe Zanotti strikes you as the kind of person who's always ready - for whatever life throws in his path.

He's got that "bring it on" look in his eyes - a look that not even his square silver-coloured glasses can hide. Perhaps the dash of red peeking out from his left pocket of his jacket also helps to reveal a man with an inner fire, a passion, if you will, for fashion.

The prominent Italian shoe designer was seated on a comfortable beige leather couch in his new shop in Emirates Towers Boulevard, Dubai.

He was in the city for a shoe-signing session (a concept very similar to book signings) for customers who wish to have their shoes signed by the creator himself.

The 50-year-old designer said it's important to him to do these signing sessions.

Impressed

"I like to meet customers to understand if my style and design fits with what the women desire," he said as he glanced around his new shop. Zanotti, who was seeing the shop for the first time since its opening four months ago, was very impressed with what he saw.

"Development in Dubai is incredible. That's why we opened a shop here. I like the way it [the shop] looks. I love the sophisticated mix of colours, like bronze and beige. And the chandelier is from Paris. It adds a very dramatic effect," he said.

He explained the red corals and the white painted tree branches that are seen prominently around the shop represent summer, the sea and the beach atmosphere.

In Zanotti's world, there seems to be a little bit of everything or perhaps a lot of everything. His shop is tastefully overflowing with shoes of all shapes and colours, from flat-soled sandals laced with sparkling jewels to blue and silver platforms inspired by the disco era of the '70s and '80s.

But the shoes that really catch your eye are his retro gladiator sandals which look like they could protect you in the ring when faced with lions and tigers.

Equally they would also be perfect with a sensual summer dress for an evening with the stars, or your mates for that matter.

"Flat is sometimes more sexy and more sensual than high stilettos," he said. "And, in general, fashion is very global now and is the same all over the world. Obviously, there are some differences because of different cultures. But women love beauty and I love to make my contribution to this beauty," he said.

Comfort

However, he was quick to add: "I am not a fashion slave. I love fashion but I do not want to lose my attention to the atmosphere, to the balance of colours, to the lightness, to the fitting... I can't forget the comfort," he said.

Thankfully, even with comfort, there isn't an ounce of style or glamour that is lost in his creations. Every single shoe looks like it has a name, a life and a story to tell. Indeed, Zanotti admits that many things influence him when he creates his shoes - one of them being his mood.

"Each collection is a reflection of my personal life. There are seasons where I love jazz music and maybe my mood is in this atmosphere. But I still make what women desire. I don't only base my designs on my personal mood," he said.

So has he cracked the code that every man wants the answer to? Does he know what women truly want?

What women want

"I know," he said without hesitation. "Because women are never satisfied. I know that this is the most important thing to know. You give a woman the possibility to buy and she will buy everything… the whole world. But I think it's not a bad thing to shop or to love buying shoes.

When a woman shops she feels beautiful and feminine. It's a little personal goal. And if shoes can make someone feel happy, then it's good," he said.

Catering to his customer's every whim, Zanotti makes shoes for every type of woman and occasion.

"Sometimes shoes are for one week, sometimes for one night. Sometimes for a whole lifetime. Like this one for example," he said, as he jumped off the couch to pick up a glamorous cocktail shoe from the shelf.

"We need to consider different times of the day, different women. Sometimes also, I love to create irresistible shoes," he said.

When asked which was an irresistible shoe, he declared: "All of them" as he demonstrated by pulling various luxurious shoes off the shelves.

On the move

With 45 stores all over the world, Zanotti is constantly on the move. "I live in 747s and airports around the world," he laughed.

But when he manages to get away from his hectic lifestyle, he escapes to his house on a wild beach in the northern part of the Seychelles where he spends quality time with his family.

"It's very important for my batteries," he said. But travelling doesn't bother him as it gives him the chance to meet people and see the world. "This is the global life. Welcome to the real world," he laughed.

Celebrities are like vinyl records

Celebrities such as Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Cameron Diaz and Nelly Furtado all wear Giuseppe Zanotti shoes. To the designer, celebrities have two sides.

"You know, I am very fascinated by old vinyl records. I have a huge collection. And they have two sides, like celebrities - one side is the social or professional and the other is the personal. It's very hard to know them well. When they ask me to make a special shoe for a big event like the Grammy Awards they are very aggressive. They want to be beautiful and they want to be the queen of the night. But these are just shoes. And especially when the celebrity is fat or ugly, the shoe will not change that," he said.

Rihanna stands out as the most beautiful celebrity in Zanotti's mind.

"She is so sweet and her skin is so beautiful. She might be young, but she's smart. She knows. She's not a Britney Spears. Alicia Keys is also a lovely person. I met her two weeks ago and she always sends me a letter and a little gift or something after I send her some shoes. Beyoncé is just so sexy and fun. She comes with Jay-Z into our stores and he's always complaining that she buys so many shoes. He says: ‘Come on, why another pair of shoes? There's no more space in the closet!'" Zanotti said.

The Beginning

Italian shoe designer Giuseppe Zanotti has been making shoes for more than 20 years. He was first inspired by his mother, who was a tailor.

"I was impressed by the fitting and how much work went into making a dress. To finish one dress she used to work for weeks and weeks. I was impressed with the manufacturing and her choice of patterns," he said.

When he started, many said that working with shoes is the most difficult profession. "But I don't like an easy challenge so I went for it. But then I realised that it really is hard," he said.

He's inspired by fashion and style of all eras, colours and sparkling jewels. "I love to experiment in different ways, close to haute couture."