Your favourite food?
Steak tartare. For some reason, it gives me a lot of energy.
You love landscaping. Why?
I love nature but I love seeing it through the creative eyes of an artisan instead. I like to see how humans interpret nature and that humanised perspective. I especially love the works of Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx. That’s also the reason why I love objects. I love the idea of humans being the masters of their crafts and seeing their ideas through the objects they create.
Who do you have the best conversations with?
With my friend Diane von Furstenberg over long hikes near her house in Connecticut. It’s funny—every time we want to have full-on conversations, we hike for a good two hours.
How do you make new discoveries?
Always by accident. Every good thing that happens to me happens accidentally. I just learnt a new word last week—serendipity. I keep using that now. If you are a communicator and keep yourself open, you’ll always attract the right things and people
into your life.
Is your success today what you’ve always envisioned?
No. It’s beyond my imagination. The success I have today actually was never my goal. I just do what I do because I love creating beautiful shoes. Everything else just grew organically. The customers keep coming back. I keep designing new shoes. I believe you should just keep doing what you love because the success that comes with it is only a natural progression.
I actually don’t believe in goals because when you don’t, the sky is the limit. When you just go along with your journey, different things may fall into your path, but if you just keep to your vision of success, you become narrow-minded. So allow the process to be organic and just
flow with it.

When do you get the best ideas?
When I’m alone. I can be anywhere but I must be alone.
What fascinates you about women?
For so long, they have allowed men to believe they are the weaker gender.
When are you happiest?
When I’m drawing.
Your favourite destination?
Bhutan. I keep going back and never tire of it.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger?
That not everyone is genuine and some have ulterior motives towards me.
Are you now more cautious with people then?
Not really. [Laughs] I can be quite gullible. But I also want to keep my enthusiasm and optimism about people.
Why nail lacquers?
I design shoes so it’s a no-brainer decision to create nail colours. When we have models putting on my shoes to be photographed, I always end up questioning myself, “What should be on the nails?”