As the saying goes, good shoes take you to good places. Be it wearing a pair of glittery boots to a party, or leopard print killer heels to a fancy dinner, or even a snake skin strap heels to a job interview, never belittle its potential. It goes beyond being just a mere accessory or something you pick at the last minute before you step out the door. It's all about you, and it's something you should wear with pride.
Credit: Helen Sutcliffe
Irregular Choice, the nonconformist shoe label from Britain, is the epitome of this sentiment. Helmed by owner and designer, Dan Sullivan, Irregular Choice is fearlessness, uniqueness and individuality packaged into one. Since its inception in 1999, Dan has never lost sight of his vision and philosophy for the label and has been dauntly putting out creatively designed shoes you can expect to find only at an Irregular Choice store.
We're thrilled to have been able to ask Dan a few questions on his latest Spring/Summer 2015 collections and even found out some exciting collaborations in the works!
Credit: Helen Sutcliffe
1. What was your inspiration behind Irregular Choice Iconic’s Spring/Summer 2015 collections?
It is all about someone who wants to be different. It doesn’t matter what age, where you are, where you work, or anything else, except the fact that you want to have some fun and show off part of your personality that isn’t just a boring black shoe.
My inspirations really come from travelling and seeing different cultures, but then I let my imagination run wild and invent the most different shoes I can possibly think of. I am going for intense shock factor, but still something wearable and affordable. Each collection has a loose theme, not just an assortment of shoes.
2. If you had to pick some favourites off the collection, which ones would they be?
It would have to be our iconic Dinosaur heels this season. The design process tested us a few times but it was all worthwhile when they sold out within minutes. (The shoe is available at Superspace at Orchard Gateway)
3. How do you pick the materials to work with?
I try to follow trends of colour each season, but I am more of a magpie when it comes to picking out materials from markets. Anything that’s shiny, glittery or exciting catches my eye.
4. You broke into the Asian market by opening your first Asia store in Hong Kong 3 years ago. What has the response been like? Any plans to open up more stores in Asia?
We had a fantastic response when opening up in Hong Kong a few years back with a constant influx of Chinese tourists each week. We do very well with our wholesale customers in China with stores like Gallery Lafayette in Beijing being one of our most successful. We are now looking to open up a new store in mainland China next year but plans are still in progress.
5. Was there ever a moment in which you felt things were stagnant in terms of creative development? If so, what gave you the motivation and inspiration to pull through?
There has only been one time in 2001 when I felt that maybe it wasn’t all going to work. Which was really disheartening. Irregular Choice was only 1-2 years old, and I was really struggling to get it out there, and get people behind it. I knew that the consumers wanted it, but the buyers just weren’t willing to take a risk. The company was getting further and further in debt, and I just couldn’t see how I was going to turn it around.
Then you start questioning yourself, your direction and what you first believed in. But I was very fortunate, and I designed one specific style, which was amazing, and it turned everything around. And in 6 months the company went from being in the red to being in the black. People were taking notice, and really I haven’t looked back.
It is amazing how one thing can change the world for you, and you never know how far away that one thing (or person) is; the key is to keep believing in yourself and surround yourself with people that also believe in you, as you will need them, as they will need you when things don’t go as planned.
6. What has been your biggest achievement?
Opening up our flagship retail stores. Retail is a hard business to be in and be able to succeed in this, to know we have a wealth of fans, and progress in that field has been my biggest achievement with the brand.
7. How important do you think it is to brand yourself?
You take your brand with you wherever you go. It’s really important to bring an element of personalization to your audience. By connecting with people, your brand connects with people. If you’re passionate about your brand, it’s infectious.
8. What’s in store for Irregular Choice? Any exciting collaborations or projects in the works?
Our biggest sellers of the company at the moment are so wide spread through the collection but our biggest sellers of the company have to be our sought after character heels. Since the launch of our first rabbit heels launched back in 2012 and we saw the demand for these unique and fun character heels take off, we have dedicated a part of business making sure Irregular Choice was the first and will remain the first for crazy and never before seen heel constructions that define gravity and push boundaries of design each season.
Credit: Helen Sutcliffe
We tend to launch products each month to keep our fans engaged and excited for what is coming next. I am strong believer in creating shoes, which our fans know they will not see any other people wearing down their local. It’s about creating products at affordable prices so every fan can have their own Cinderella moment.
We have collaborations with Star Wars & Disney coming this year, which will be very exciting for our fans and in line with [the] release for [the] movie in December.
We plan on re-launching our e-commerce site in September to meet demand from our fans globally.
We also plan to continue our growth in our retail business with more store openings in Europe/USA & Australasia as our fans base is growing each day in these territories.
Irregular Choice is available in the following stores in Singapore:
1. Soon Lee at Haji Lane
2. P.V.S at Cineleisure
3. Superspace at Orchard Gateway
4. www.wearto.com