Why Paul Andrew is the next Manolo Blahnik

Paul Andrew is battling a nasty case of strep throat, but that hasn’t dampened the easy charm that has delighted countless editors and retailers since he arrived in New York 17 years ago. He welcomes me into his minimalist midtown office with a flurry of ‘darlings’ and sincere apologies for postponing our interview (due to the aforementioned illness) — and it’s quickly apparent that he deserves his reputation as one of the nicest men in fashion.

Andrew’s talent for turning out stilettos and slingbacks that are of the moment is so prodigious that he’s been called the heir apparent to footwear legends such as Manolo, Jimmy and Christian (that’s Blahnik, Choo, and Louboutin to you and me). But despite his luxury pedigree, Andrew doesn’t make me feel self-conscious that I’m shod in decidedly less glamorous Stan Smiths. I immediately want to be best friends. Andrew, 38, has that effect on people. He is, at present, extremely busy. And plans to expand his brand (which already includes a men’s line) into e-commerce in the coming year, and into other accessories and possibly ready-to-wear, are not the only things taking up his time. Andrew has also been named design director for women’s shoes at Salvatore Ferragamo: the first person to hold that position. ‘What I’m doing for them is taking the incredible pieces that were created in the Twenties, Thirties and Forties, and reinventing them for a new generation of consumers,’ he says. ‘There are almost 15,000 pairs of shoes in the Ferragamo archive, and the fact that I’ve been given the keys is a huge honour — but also a huge responsibility. I feel enormously humbled to have this role.’

It means that he spends more time in Italy now, but it’s not difficult for him to switch gears between Ferragamo and Paul Andrew: he was, after all, juggling 14 different consultancies (for brands as varied as Carolina Herrera, Vera Wang, Rosie Assoulin and Emilia Wickstead) as a way to fund his own line when he was starting out. ‘I think it’s really quite clear when you look at the two collections [Paul Andrew and Salvatore Ferragamo] that they’re distinctly different in their aesthetics,’ he says.

A native of Berkshire and a graduate of Berkshire College of Art & Design, Andrew came to the Big Apple, fresh off an apprenticeship with Alexander McQueen, to helm the nascent accessories division at Narciso Rodriguez. The decision to leave the UK wasn’t really a difficult one. ‘I was just 21 when it happened, and I feel you’re much more able to move in any direction easily at that age,’ he says. ‘Also, with McQueen, I was basically earning zero money — so suddenly to be getting a New York salary was very appealing. That’s the truth of it.’ Unsurprisingly, the thing Andrew misses most about the UK is his family. (Biscuits and cakes from M&S come a strong second.)

His ascent was swift. After working with Rodriguez, Andrew designed the men’s and women’s footwear collections for Calvin Klein’s signature label, before taking a post with Donna Karan, where he stayed for 10 years, rising to vice president of design for all shoes and accessories. Finally, in 2013, he decided it was time to strike out on his own. ‘Everyone was wearing these staggeringly high heels on huge platforms, which was never my aesthetic,’ he says. ‘I was always about a more refined-looking shoe, and I felt that style was going to come back.’

He was right. With his trim suits and close-cropped hair, Andrew is as sleek as his designs, which are marked by their swooping lines and graceful curves. Thanks to the industrial-grade memory foam added to the insoles, they are also as close as you’ll get to walking on clouds while in four-inch heels. It’s no surprise that his shoes have become favourites of those who work the red carpet, such as Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o and Emma Watson.

It is one of Andrew’s strengths that he’s able to bridge the gap between the fanciful and the technical, and he credits that ability to his parents. His father was the royal upholsterer to the Queen at Windsor Castle before starting his own company. ‘His workshop was actually attached to our house, so every day I would come home from school and just sit and watch him handcraft all this artisan furniture, and work with the most beautiful materials and trim,’ says Andrew, who helped his father move furniture to earn pocket money he would spend on copies of British Vogue.

On the other side, his mother was an executive at a computer company, sparking Andrew’s interest in innovation and technology. ‘It’s interesting that what I do and the way I approach design is very much informed by both those influences,’ he says.

Creating footwear also allows Andrew to indulge in another passion: architecture. Growing up, he says, ‘I was really interested in fashion, but I loved buildings. I had my parents take me to London on weekends to look at buildings I’d heard about.’ When it was time to choose his course at university, ‘it sort of clicked that shoe design was this amazing amalgamation of both those interests — because the way you build a shoe is somehow related to the way that you create a building.’

In addition to the success of the Paul Andrew brand at retail and with celebrities, he has also been recognised by his peers. He was the first shoe designer to win the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, and last year took home the CFDA Swarovski Award for accessory design. In June, he’s up for the biggest prize of them all — the CFDA accessories designer of the year trophy. He’s up against the likes of the Olsen sisters for The Row and Stuart Vevers at Coach.

‘We’re only four years old, so to be nominated for the big award — I can’t even tell you what it means,’ he says. ‘It’s huge.’ For someone who’s always looking down (‘You have no idea how many times I’ve fallen over on the street,’ he says of checking out the footwear on passers-by), it seems Andrew has nowhere to go but up.