AN INTERVIEW
WITH ROSAMUND MUIR
ON THE TRUE CRAFT OF SUSTAINABLE SHOEMAKING
1 . Making the move from working in Design and Advertising to then creating your own brand must have been a hard decision to make , especially while being a mum of three so what was the main reason for making the move ?
I worked in Design and Advertising in London after studying at university in Leeds . When my husband and I moved abroad in 2007 , I had a break from work , welcomed our three children into our family and set up a charity meals program for elderly hospice outpatients and rescued women in a refuge . When my youngest child started school , I decided to follow my passion for shoes and trained in Shoe Design and Pattern Making at London College of Footwear . I have always been such a shoe lover and supported by my great family and friends . I wanted to use my own experiences to design beautiful yet practical heels that women could enjoy . Creating my own brand has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience and thoroughly challenging ! There are so many moving parts to having your own brand in fashion .
2 . What is your main inspiration for creating luxury footwear for women ?
My inspiration comes from my own experience of wearing heels , what has worked for my feet , what has not and speaking to other women about their requirements in heeled footwear . Like many other women , I have always loved heels and how I feel feminine in them but often found many brands ’ heels uncomfortable for work or events when I was working in London and then going to events such as weddings with young children , where you are on your feet all the time . I was inspired to create my own collections offering different heels for many requirements for those women who love heels .
3 . How important is the fact that the shoes you design are then handmade using traditional practices ?
It is extremely important for me to bring back the handmade practices into making our footwear . Our ethos at Rosamund Muir is slow fashion and every aspect of making our footwear is slowed right down compared to the fast fashion practices of many other shoe brands who fast bulk produce footwear in large quantities in factories . Our traditional methods of handcrafting ensure much higher levels of quality which we have been consistently recognised for . It is wonderful to see our expert artisans make our footwear and keeping these traditional practices alive .
THE ART OF LUXURY Issue 58 2023