Malone Souliers shoes will will strut their stuff on the Novis runway — Spy received the exclusive scoop on the collaboration between the brand and shoe designer Mary Alice Malone. Here, Malone shares a few partnership secrets from the catwalk..
How did this collaboration come about?
“We see Novis as one to watch. My partner, Roy Luwolt, had admired their lady-like style [and] bold use of color, and then Malone Souliers and Novis serendipitously found each other somewhere along that love affair.”
Tell us about the footwear styles you created together.
“With any collaboration, the most exhilarating part is in the exercise of creation beyond your stead. For Novis, this particularly applied in landscape embroidery on strappy sandals to complement their damsel-in-control dresses: short to mid-length to long. The shoes just had to be [versatile] enough to play with all the shadows cast by the pristine yet playful silhouettes of their spring collection.”
What was the inspiration?
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“Novis identifies with the boldness of coloring on which we are based, which, for us, is seasonless, brightening the winter with muted colors and a beautifully satisfying corollary in the summer. Then there’s their Modern Art influence — prints heavily laden with a light acknowledgment of what one may well call Henri Matisse, Albert Marquet and friends. All together, an adventurous mélange between our world of feet and theirs of, well, bodies.”
Do you approach designing for the runway differently than you do your
own collection?
“Yes — it has to be a different approach. The shoes are meant to highlight, flatter, compliment and be the base of design and vision. There is therefore a lovely balance between designing a highlight versus a standalone. Here, we aimed to bridge the gap.”
