Bespoke Luxury Shoes From Kimono Fabrics
Hetty Rose designs and hand makes bespoke shoes and teaches shoe making courses as part of her passion for eco-fashion.
After graduating from the London College of Fashion in a footwear degree, Hetty Rose was created. Her signature style is to upcycle vintage Japanese kimono fabrics so the shoes are often very bright and colourful. The designer, Hetty was travelling in Japan several years ago and came across some tiny shops selling beautiful vintage kimono fabrics.
These fabrics have already been un-picked and are in panels, which lend themselves to shoe patterns. Hetty found many more around Kyoto and Tokyo, brought them back to London and experimented in her workshop. As the fabrics are one-offs they cannot be reproduced, so when she finds something gorgeous, she has to do it justice by making it into something really wonderful.
As a brand, Hetty Rose tries to encourage traditional methods. She feels it is important to promote handcrafted products, made in Britain. All products are handmade solely by Hetty herself in a workshop, which she enjoys immensely. The shoe making workshops she hosts are also a wonderful way of teaching others how to make their own shoes and passing on the knowledge and joy of shoe making.
After being selected to exhibit at London Fashion Week in her first season, she has gone on to feature in many publications including Vogue, Elle & on television around the World.
As part of a series called Eco-Fashion for Fashion One TV, and as part of Stranger Than Paradise Productions’ Promote Art Campaign we spent a day with Hetty in her studio in Woolwich in South East London. We loved filming her work and talking to her about her fashion brand and her passion for creating ethical and environmentally considerate products. Her studio is currently located in Kent.
