Celebrity stylist and E! Style Collective member Lindsay Albanese recently sat down with designer Charlotte Olympia (the mastermind of those celeb-favored feline-embroidered flats) to talk about the beauty in all things tongue-in-cheek.
Lindsay Albanese: As a natural creative, I'm sure you have a lot of different aspirations. Is there anything you'd like to design in addition to your accessories?
Charlotte Olympia: I've got lots of things that I'd like to design but I like to focus on the product at hand. I like to do things organically and at the right time
LA: What about a wild card item…like interiors?
CO: If ever, that would be many moons away. I've got many more things that I would probably do before that. I enjoy interiors; my last collection was inspired by interiors. It's called "A World of Interiors." There's just a list of things I'd like to do: sunglasses, perfume, maybe, but definitely not anytime soon.
LA: What does Charlotte Olympia wear on the weekend as far as shoes?
CO: During the weekend days, it'd be flats. I've got three young boys at home, so I've got to run after them. I've just launched a small range of sneakers, so those are preferable for chasing young boys around. In the evening, I feel natural in my high heels, if I'm going out.
LA: So, whatever the occasion calls for…
CO: Whatever the occasion calls for. If I'm really relaxing, I'd be barefoot. [Laughs]
LA: I know your design aesthetic isn't based on trends, but is there any shoe or fashion trend you wish would go away?
CO: As much as there are things that probably don't appeal to my own aesthetic, I find things like that a challenge. Actually, I use to say I never liked a mule [shoe], but I took on the challenge and made a kind of mule that I liked. I try to make them work. I never say never.
LA: I'm the same way. People will ask me that too. Ultimately, it's like who cares what I say. Wear what you want!
CO: Some things work for certain people. I'm not one to wear biker boots but it doesn't mean I don't like them. It's definitely a personal thing.
LA: Speaking of personal things, is there an interesting story behind the design of these amazing shoes I'm wearing [the Pom Sandals]?
CO: Those are from my "Down Mexico Way" collection. I was inspired by Mexico. I've never been to a lot of places I've been inspired by—and I quite like that. I think you can take a more romantic approach about the inspiration; you dream a little bit more. A lot of the things end up being cliché, but it's more of a beautiful cliché—as I like to call it. It may be stereotypical from an outsider's view but then you play with it and run with it.
LA: It's interesting that you say these were inspired by Mexico—that's where I got married. So it's interesting that I was drawn to this style.
CO: Well, it's a fun shoe. It's a fiesta shoe.
LA: With this newest collection, did anything interesting happen during the design process?
CO: This collection is called "It Happened Out West." It's a road trip up from Mexico to the Wild Wild West. Again [I've] never been, so there's a romantic approach to it. It's a colorful, feminine approach to it.
I shot this collection in a place in Spain where they use to shoot all the old Westerns. It was quite funny to have my tongue-in-cheek accessories at an old Western location. It looks really fake in real life…like when I went to Universal Studios. It definitely wasn't meant to look realistic.