Hotfoots it to Mayfair - Mayfair Times

CHARLOTTE DELLAL
PUTS THE ‘HIGH’ INTO
HIGH HEELS. HER
TOWERING CREATIONS
ARE BELOVED BY
EVERYONE FROM
BEYONCÉ TO SARAH
JESSICA PARKER – AND
NOW THEY’RE DEFYING
GRAVITY RIGHT HERE
IN MAYFAIR.
SELMA DAY REPORTS
Walking
tall
Charlotte Dellal ushers me into her shoe boutique in Maddox
Street wearing skyscraper heels that accentuate her already long,
perfectly shaped pins. With glowing skin and hair resembling that
of a 1940s pin-up, the 29-year-old beauty has inherited her looks
from her mother Andrea, a Brazilian model who, back in the
1070s, graced the international catwalks doing shows for the likes
of Valentino and Chanel.
“My dad sometimes says that I didn’t get my looks from him,”
says Charlotte, smiling. Dad is London property magnate Guy
Dellal – the son of property investor Jack Dellal (worth £450
million according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2010).
Undeterred by her family’s success, Charlotte has made a
name for herself as a shoe designer. “My parents have always
encouraged me,” she says. “They used to say, ‘If you want to do
something, go for it, but no doubt you’re going to have to work
hard to do it’.
“And I think, no matter what your background is, if you work
hard you can succeed. I don’t think there is anyone or any brand
that is successful and has gone on for hundreds of years that
hasn’t worked hard.”
That determination has helped Charlotte to grow her
Charlotte Olympia shoe label over the past five seasons,
culminating in the opening of her shop this summer. “It’s the first
shop I looked at,” says Charlotte, “and it had everything. The size
was perfect, the outside of the building was amazing and the
location was perfect. It’s a Mayfair address – it was always going
to be in W1 because it says a lot about your brand – and we
wanted to keep it very Mayfair.”
The Charlotte Olympia signature spiderweb branding
(a reference to Charlotte’s Web) appears all over the shop – in the
window display and over the entrance – as well as on the soles
of the shoes.
Inside, the charming Georgian building has been restored to
its former glory. The original herringbone floor has been relaid and
the cabinets and floor-to-ceiling storeroom have all been handcarved
from oak. Neisha Crossland wallpaper, spider-fabric
blinds, antique-brass lamps and an Eames-style sofa complete
the look, which Charlotte describes as “chic and classic”.
“It’s quite old-fashioned, like an old glove or hat shop, which
is the whole vibe – and I wanted to keep with the façade of the
building,” she says.
“I’ve a nostalgia for the 1940s and 1950s and that’s the feel of
my shoe collection. They are quite classic shapes but I have a lot
of fun playing with colours, prints and textures. I’m very much
inspired by Ferragamo – all the colours and materials he used.
They were classic but special and the detail and craftsmanship
were amazing.”
Charlotte is known for her super-high shoes, whose fans
include Beyoncé, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sienna Miller, Penelope Cruz
and Sarah Jessica Parker, who wore the Dolly and Eve shoes in
the last Sex and the City movie. Needless to say, those styles
have since sold out.
Though the shoes are popular with celebrities, Charlotte says
she doesn’t design for any particular type of woman or age
group. “I’m a woman designing fun shoes and sexy shoes for
women,” she says.
Charlotte studied shoe design at the specialist Cordwainers
College in London, graduating in 2004. “Design was something
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fashion