Cover Paul Andrew
Paul Andrew
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Former creative director of Ferragamo and footwear stalwart Paul Andrew relaunches his namesake brand
Few footwear designers boast the kind of accomplishments that Paul Andrew has earned throughout his career.
After all, how many can claim the title of creative director for a leading luxury house? Following his tenure at Italian house Salvatore Ferragamo, Andrew has relaunched his eponymous brand, once more pushing the boundaries of fashion and elegance with a razor-sharp refinement.
Andrew is a distinguished figure in the fashion world, who is known for his unique spin on women’s footwear, and a career marked by collaborations with some of the biggest names in fashion including Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and Alexander McQueen in London.
A year after introducing his line, his exceptional designs garnered such widespread recognition that he was awarded the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund in 2014, leading to his time at Salvatore Ferragamo, where he initially served as design director for women’s footwear before quickly rising to women’s creative director and, ultimately, overseeing all product categories as Creative Director by 2019.
Now in his post-Ferragamo era, the designer has rejuvenated his namesake brand, which is now available at Singapore’s Avenue on 3 in Paragon Shopping Centre.
Below, read on as we caught up with Andrew on the day of his official launch at the luxury footwear store.
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Paul Andrew
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What is it about footwear that drives your passion?
How I got into shoes is an interesting story. I really wanted to be an architect when I was a child. A friend of my mother’s, who was an architect, came over for dinner one day. She was in her early forties, which seemed so old to me at the time, and she’d never seen one of her designs manifested into a real building. That depressed me so much as a 15-year-old boy who was so impatient. I wanted things immediately.
That’s sort of when I found fashion because shoes is very similar to architecture in the way that it has to be balanced, carry weight, and be exacting. Shoes became a real go-to for me. Now, my whole approach to my work in fashion is very much related to architecture.
How so?
There’s a cleanliness to the things that I do. Everything has a very strong minimalistic line, but then there’s also a twist to things that I hope is my handwriting on the shoe. I'm also very inspired by the world of the arts and you’ll see that my signature heel is inspired by the sculptures of Jean Arp for instance.
They have this very feminine, curvaceous form to them. That becomes a signature and an immediately recognisable element to the brand. But the upper of the shoe is quite simple, and clean and easy-to-wear. It’s a combination of a slight design twist with a hint of artistic quality.
Above Paul Andrew is available at Avenue on 3
Paul Andrew is available at Avenue on 3
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How does it feel to be back at your brand today?
It feels great. I was creative director of Ferragamo for five years and during that time I was asked to pause my brand. After the non-compete clause, I was able to restart again and it feels really wonderful to sort of have that freedom once again.
I’ve learned so many lessons through that experience working for a multi-billion heritage luxury house. I met incredible contacts along the way, including factory resources and manufacturers and tanneries.
What I’m doing for the second time for my brand—it feels like there's a refinement and a certain expertise. Not that those were missing before, but I feel like the product is now much stronger.
Are your designs referencing your archives from before?
Not really. It’s very rare that I look back to what I did before. I think it’s also dangerous in fashion to look back too much. I’m really about looking forward to the future. There are only certain elements that are included from the past, and that is this understanding and appreciation for both the fit and the comfort of the shoes.
They’re not just pretty textural objects that you can look at. I want women to wear them and feel confident and strong in the best versions that we sell.
What would you say inspires you on a day-to-day basis?
The women that wear my shoes are the biggest inspiration. I'm trying to travel the world and meet as many of these women as possible and understand what they're enjoying from the collection and how do I then improve it and move the brand forward.
It is interesting that in different regions of the world, there are different requests and demands on the product itself. Here, at least the women that I’ve met, it’s warm here 12 months a year, so there is no interest in boots for example.
But there are also a lot of events here. People are going out and getting dressed up in a way that they don’t in other countries around the world. The collection is sort of balanced with lots of different end uses in mind.
What brought you to Singapore?
As I mentioned, I was part of a big company before with certain demands on budget and increasing the business and revenue every year. With my own brand, of course that’s important but I’m doing things at my own pace and in my own time. I’m building partnerships very slowly and carefully and intentionally. I had heard of and seen Avenue on Three and the FJ Benjamin group and I love what they're doing here. I just felt like it was going to be the perfect home for Paul Andrews, so I’m hoping this will be a very long and fruitful partnership.
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How would you describe your personal style?
It’s somehow very connected to the way I design. There's a clean minimalistic quality but with a sort of fashion twist. I’m sitting here in front of you wearing all black but I’m wearing an oversized trouser and a narrow jacket but it’s all about the proportion and the cut of things. It’s the same with my shoes. It’s about the proportion of the slingback, the heel, the balance of the insole that make them different to everything else that you might see on the shop floor.
Which designers do you look up to?
There are so many great designers that I’ve had the great privilege to work for. When I graduated school in the early 2000’s, my first job was with Alexander McQueen, so that was an incredible eye-opening experience and a wonderful education in fashion.
He really taught me to think outside of the box and push boundaries and don't conform to the norms of like a merchandising plan. Always push it forward. But then, of course, I spent a lot of time in my career working with major American iconic designers like Calvin Klein and Donna Karan, and both of them taught me so much about the industry and design and the consumer and great fit and quality, and the importance of manufacturing in Italy.
Between McQueen, Calvin Klein himself and Donna Karan, those have been great icons in my life.
What have been some of the biggest challenges of your career so far?
I feel pretty lucky that I haven’t had so many challenges. I’ve been pretty embraced by the industry ever since I started out on my own almost a decade ago. And of course, then winning the CFDA and then going to Ferragamo and slowly becoming the creative director. It’s almost unheard of for a shoe designer to be the head of an entire business, including ready to wear and working on ad campaigns and fashion shows.
And now restarting my business again, it's been so well received. I’m very grateful for the support that I’ve had.
Can you tell us about the new collection?
The new collection just arrived at Avenue on 3. They have it almost before anyone else in the world. There are a few new amazing elements like this new zipper detail. There’s a metal zip that works either as an embellishment on the upper of the shoe or around the insole edge. In some cases it’s functioning; and in others, it’s just an embellishment. It gives you this subtle architectural twist that makes it not just a simple slingback sandal or a pump. There’s something about it that when you look at it you go, “that’s the Alexandra shoe”. It’s shiny, it’s silver, it reflects the light against the very matte beautiful calf skin that I'm developing in Tuscany. The heels ar these beautiful slender spike heels on two different heel heights and they’re made from solid steel so there is no possible way that they can break. They look very narrow but they’re very durable.
I think the most special thing is an exclusive shoe that I’ve made for Avenue 3. It has this plexiglass heel sculptural form. The upper is made from transparent sustainable PVC so it’s like a Cinderella glass slipper that just disappears onto your foot.
What can we look forward from you?
I’m building the brand very slowly in different regions. I think we're making a big step in this next 12 months.
My particular focus is on Asia as a market in general. I’m committed exclusively to Avenue on 3, but in Japan we're growing the business in a big way. We’re starting now with Korea too, but it’s like more of doing these things in a very meaningful, purposeful way that means that they’re going to stand the test of time.
In the past I’ve seen other designers and even myself from my own experiences, moving too fast and building the business too. The business can’t move as fast as you desire sometimes. We’re moving slow and steady.
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Nafeesa Saini is the Features Editor at Tatler Singapore, where she shapes long-form stories on culture, business, philanthropy, wellness, and the people driving change in Asia. With a deep interest in storytelling that intersects meaningfully with identity and impact, she has profiled a diverse range of visionaries, from scientific pioneers in AI and health to creative trailblazers and literary minds.
Nafeesa’s writing includes cover stories and profiles that spotlight influential voices, alongside commentary on the trends reshaping our world.
Off the clock, Nafeesa unwinds with fiction, a good thrift hunt, and ‘brainrot’ TikTok scroll—while always keeping one eye on her next cultural getaway, usually to Indonesia.
