When Bruno Frisoni began working on Roger Vivier‘s latest fall/winter collection, it was a picture of a woman surrounded by five soldiers that left the biggest impression on him. “She was wearing a suit with boots. She looked military in a way but also ultra-feminine and romantic,” the bespectacled Creative Director recalls. “So I was toying with the idea of the army defining what a real true woman is. This isn’t a woman who tends to her camouflage jacket or combat boot. Instead, she is someone armed with softness.”

Is “softness” what the modern woman needs? After all, there is strength in elegance. “A pair of shoes can change things,” Frisoni asserts. “It’s like an obsession that defines you yesterday, today and tomorrow. It gives you a very strong energy.”

This strength manifests in a new fall/winter range of refined shoes and bags that are also teeming with the dynamism of the ’60s—an exciting period that witnessed the crumbling of traditions under the weight of change, optimism and youth. “There’s always something light, fresh, cool and young about the decade,” Frisoni adds. He decoded the energy into graceful stilettos wrapped in the vivid appeal of black-and-white houndstooth or bedecked with frills, ruffles and rosettes; sleek ankle boots elevated with the Maison’s classic buckle and polished bags that remained ladylike despite their structural form.

Frisoni is often credited for ushering Roger Vivier into a fruitful era of stylistic growth—and he’s done it all on his own terms. “I didn’t want to duplicate what he [Roger Vivier] did,” says Frisoni. Yet, he has remained respectful of the brand’s storied past as shoemaker to the couturiers and stars by faithfully consulting its archives. “I may be examining the same image more than once but I never look at them the same way. I stop at different places. The spontaneity of choice gives me direction,” Frisoni says.

Frisoni sees his time at Roger Vivier as an ongoing effort that continues the illustrious story of the brand. “It’s the same for fashion,” Frisoni says. “Ultimately, fashion is all about the stories it can bring.” His approach to shoe design then, is to come up with the beautiful words that fill the lines and chapters of this spellbinding tale; every stiletto, pump and sneaker is a lavish invitation to step into the fantasy world of Roger Vivier.

By Gerald Tan

This article originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of Harper’s BAZAAR Singapore.