Thanks to her tongue-in-cheek accessories and Insta-genic Fashion Week presentations, Sophia Webster’s eponymous brand has quickly become one of London’s biggest success stories. Having trained with Brit footwear designer Nicholas Kirkwood before launching her own line in 2012, she’s quickly become known for playful, talking-point pieces: take a closer look at street style shots from any of the four fashion capitals and you’re likely to spot her witty speech bubble clutches and dramatic ‘Evangeline’ winged heels adorning the hands and feet of fashion editors.
For her latest collection, though, Sophia has gone to the dark side, departing from her usual candy colour palette to embrace a moodier, almost gothic sensibility. Titled ‘I Myself Am Strange and Unusual’ (a line that Winona Ryder fans will recognise from the cult film Beetlejuice) and set in the eerily beautiful Chapel of St. Barnabas, her A/W’16 presentation features moody florals, Klimt-inspired embellishment and beetle-ish iridescent finishes.
‘Lydia Deetz, Winona Ryder’s character [in Beetlejuice], was a big inspiration. I watched it over Christmas, and I remembered how much I loved it when I was younger,’ Sophia explains. ‘I like how she embraces her uniqueness, her rebelliousness – I think that resonated with me, and I thought I’m going to go a bit darker this season.’
Beetlejuice wasn’t the designer’s only source of cinematic inspiration. ‘I had a bit of a Tim Burton marathon over Christmas. In Corpse Bride, I loved how at the end of the film she disintegrates into butterflies.’ She’s brought the scene to life as the centrepiece of her latest presentation, with a Havisham-esque veiled figure wearing lacy tulle, artfully merging with Rebecca Louise Law’s butterfly installation. The finishing touches? White ‘Selina’ booties from Sophia’s bridal line, and a delicate beaded speech bubble bag emblazoned with ‘Wifey for lifey.’
It’s a typically tongue-in-cheek detail from the designer. From this season’s gothic fantasy to the gloriously kitsch mermaid laundrette of S/S’16, Webster’s presentations tend to be some of the most talked about moments of Fashion Week. ‘I’ve usually got an idea in my head of what the presentation is going to be like when I start designing the collection, then it gradually starts to take shape […] It takes about three months, but then the last month gets pretty intense.’ This time around, the location was a given. ‘As soon as I saw [the chapel], I knew I wanted to have it here. It’s really special,’ she adds.
It’s this attention to detail that has editors scrambling for their iPhones during Sophia’s Fashion Week showcases, but it’s not just a select fashion coterie that’s fallen head over heels: her instantly recognisable styles are social media catnip, and with over 600,000 followers on Instagram, she is quick to acknowledge the role that social media has played in shaping her brand. ‘I think I was really fortunate with the timing – I started around the same time that Instagram was kicking off. I did design the speech bubble bags for my first season with that in mind – simple, visually impactful styles always work well with Instagram.’
Take a closer look at the dramatic satin and tulle costumes that accompanied Sophia’s accessories and you’ll see the hallmarks of fellow London designer Ed Meadham, best known as one half of much-missed label Meadham Kirchhoff. ‘I knew that Ed would be the perfect person to bring the Lydia Deetz vibe to life, so it was great working with him,’ Sophia says of her contemporary.
It’s a collection filled with instantly covetable styles, from richly ornate box clutches to vivid floral cut-out heels, but Sophia identifies the intricate thigh-high style as her favourite. ‘These ones are quite special – it takes about 40 minutes to get into them and there’s a very specific way of lacing… It took about four people to do it,’ she laughs.
According to the designer, there’s no specific ‘Sophia Webster girl.’ ‘The women that buy my shoes are a whole cross section – shoes are like moods, aren’t they? It’s all about mixing it up. I do a really huge collection – and four collections a season! – so I cover a whole load of different types of ladies.’ In fact, her dream customer is queen of reinvention, Gwen Stefani. ‘She’s my forever girl crush. If I could just personally design her shoes forever, I’d do it […] She’s got a couple of pairs of my shoes, so that’s pretty cool.’
She’s just been shortlisted for the British Fashion Council’s prestigious Fashion Fund award, so what is the key to Sophia’s success? ‘You definitely have to balance being creative with being commercial. You have to do what you believe in, but at the end of the day you need to be able to design shoes, make shoes and deliver them on time… And then they need to sell! Getting the balance right is key.’ It’s sound advice - while the fashion world has been thrown into flux thanks to superbrands Burberry and Tom Ford adopting a ‘see now, by now’ approach, we’re sure Sophia will take it in her stride.
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