Rupert Sanderson Launching in Hong Kong

Renowned British designer, Rupert Sanderson is launching his first standalone store outside London, in Hong Kong, a city to truly appreciate his sky-high designs and bold aesthetic. The Asian flagship store will open its doors in March 2010 at 8 On Lan Street, Central, joining what will become a street of fabulous shoes, as Christian Louboutin also has his Hong Kong store on On Lan!

All the styles are hand-made in his factory in Bologna, and his approach is “less is more”, avoiding over-embellishment and over-dressing the foot. He places comfort high in his priorities (making him our kind of shoe designer), and concentrates on fit, length and shape to make even his five-inch heels wearable. Since leaving his career in advertising in 1997 to enroll at the Cordwainers College in East London to learn how to make shoes, following in the footsteps of Jimmy Choo, Sanderson headed off to Italy to learn his craft, gaining a celebrity following along the way. Fans of his work include Gwyneth Paltrow, Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller. In 2009 Sanderson won the Accessories Designer of the Year at the Elle Style Awards, and began collaborating with Karl Lagerfeld – any young designer’s dream.

The pared-back but eye-catching styles don’t slavishly follow trends, but can look of-the-moment even spanning several seasons. With a little bit of English eccentricity, Sanderson names each style after a variety of daffodil. We love the Anna Purple Iguana and the Halcyon Fuschia Patent styles (HK$4,980) above – for a little bit more “edge”, we’d also choose the Estelle Black Leather, but that’s because we’re greedy!

We can’t wait to check out the shoes in person when the store opens!