shoes addiction

Madonna, Nicole Kidman, and Gwyneth Paltrow wear them.
Rachel Zoe calls him: “Equal parts friend and footwear guru— Atwood consistently brings my sole fantasies to life.”
Jessica Alba? “He’s so hot.”
Lindsay Lohan steps out with him to the Costume Institute gala.

 

 

Brian Atwood grew up in a suburb of Chicago where he attended an all-boys Catholic school. Like many designers, his first exposure to fashion was via his mother’s wardrobe. He went on to study art and architecture at Southern Illinois University where he learned the basics of style, detail and elegance, then clothing design at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in New York, but not before staging his first fashion show in his front yard with several local buyers in the audience.

Versace
After graduation, he worked as a runway model in Europe, sketching high heels in his spare time. While in Milan, he visited all the design houses with a resume written by hand and his charisma. In the end, he succeeded it meeting and winning over Gianni Versace. In 1996, Atwood became the first American to work for Versace Milan, where he stayed for 7 years, creating for them the Versus line, then becoming the director of their accessories. Donatella says of Atwood: “Brian is amazing at injecting sheer femininity and sexiness into a static object like a shoe or a bag.”

 

 

Brian Atwood
In 2001, Atwood decided to start his own label. Since then, he has developed a cult following of women desiring longer, leaner, and sexier legs, without hurting their feet. Sparkling jewels, unexpected contrasts, luxury materials, elaborate skins, ultra long fringe, all go into his fantasy footwear. He was awarded the Swarovski’s Perry Ellis Award for Accessory Design by the CFDA in 2003.

 

 

Bally
On Valentines Day 2007, Marco Franchini, the CEO of Bally, announced that Atwood would become their new Creative Director: “I believe that the elegance and style of Brian’s work is a prefect match for Bally.” His self-proclaimed mission was to “bring up the cool factor” of the respectable Swiss brand. His first collection for women featured hobos in python, patent leather, platforms trimmed in rope and quilted shoe bags. Unfortunately, Bally was sold to Labelux Group in April 2008 and asked Atwood to leave. Rumors say that Labelux wants to bring the label back to Switzerland, taking into consideration its 2010 spring ad campaign with Christy Turlington photographed in the Alps.

Role Play Rene

 

 

For his spring/summer 2009 collection, he invited photographer Tony Duran, stylist Kithe Brewster and actress Rene Russo to create a limited edition (1000 prints) book entitled Role Play Rene. In it, Atwood explores a soft, sensual version of shoe fetishism with images showing Russo’s feet in Atwood stilettos on a naked male ass or her blindfolded taking a shower with two men.

Advice
Atwood, who has spent many years making women look more beautiful, offers the following pieces of advice:

• since for many, wearing heels is for special occasions, in order to reduce wobbling, practice walking in high heels at home – practice makes perfect;
• think of shoes as the foundation of your fashion statement; understand that what you wear on your feet can make or break a look.
• learn what looks good on you – instead of simply following trends, develop your own style based on cuts that bring out your best features.
• have fun – dare to be different, fashionable and creative – it can make a big difference in how you look and feel.

Cinderella Factor
Atwood says “I’d love to open my own stores… If the economy hadn’t hit a rough patch, I might already have done it. But the day will come.”
What drives Atwood? He calls it “The Cinderella Factor — the transformation that occurs on a woman’s face as her foot slides into the magical shoe,” and “Making someone dance a little longer, laugh a little harder and of course look better” in his beautiful creations.