A niche label in the world of handcrafted footwear designer Rohan Arora's 12-year-old shoe brand has been making some very high-end luxe shoe designs that project homegrown artistry like no one else. With the wedding season kicking in, Rohan is busy delivering some great pairs to brides and grooms across the globe to put their best foot forward on their special days.
A chat with the snazzy zapatero on his collection and what's trending in the world of classy chaussures.
No ensemble is complete without perfect footwear. How much have the footwear designs evolved?
A pair of shoes can make or break your entire look. The right footwear has thankfully gained a lot of importance in the last couple of years with people being more aware of global trends thanks to social media. You can wear a Gucci shirt with Armani pants, but if you’re not wearing the right shoes with them it just does not work. You could be wearing a shirt and pants from your local tailor but if you’re wearing the right shoes with them you look like a million bucks.
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As a brand, we have always stressed on the comfort of our shoes, which at times gets priority even over the design. A pair of shoes no matter how beautiful it looks needs to fit well and needs to be comfortable.
We do not support the idea of taking off the shoes even while dancing and keeping the same in mind, for womenswear the most comfortable shoes are the ones which have a good grip on the feet, the heels are broad enough to hold the floor and have a comfortable platform.
What's your latest festive wedding footwear collection like?
With our latest collection, we have kept the styles absolutely classy which can be worn for a wedding and for a night out as well. Block heels, wedges and flats along with our now world-famous sneakers are all there in the trendiest styles. We have dabbled with velvets, silks and leather in earthy shades of red, onion pink, aqua and nude among other shades.
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What are the types of shoes that are trending this year for weddings?
For weddings, there are two types of shoes that are “trending” so to say -- the classic block heels and the quirky sneakers.
Apart from wedding shoes, what are the essential pairs that any woman should have on her shoe rack?
A pair of black pumps, a comfortable pair of sneakers, a pair of flip-flops, a pair of tan leather block heels.
How much has your own design philosophy evolved over the years?
Our design philosophy has always been classic and chic with a dash of quirk. Over the years we have had collections where there're more classic styles with quirky embroidery. Sometimes we’ve had quirky styles with understated chic embroidery and so on. So on the whole I feel it hasn’t changed, but yes, it has matured
Some useful tips to take care of one's footwear?
The one and most important thing to increase the longevity of any shoes is to let them breathe. Take them out of your closet once every month and keep them under the fan and not AC. This helps the leather to breathe and thereby increasing longevity. This also helps in keeping the shoe fungus free.
Price on request. 83, 4A, Ballygunge Place.