Kenya Hunt

Alejandro Ingelmo is a fourth generation shoe maker who is up for one of fashion’s prestigious CFDA awards, for the second time. He likes sci-fi and hates Uggs and kitten heels. We met in London to talk shoes.

It’s warm and humid outside and his London showroom doesn’t have air conditioning, but Alejandro Ingelmo somehow manages to look cool, clean and crisp in his white button-down shirt and tie as he walks me through his collection. His classic, slightly restrained, retro appearance is a bit deceptive, though. This is a man who makes shoes that ooze sex of the futuristic, rock and roll variety and appeal to mega-celebrities like Beyoncé Knowles, Jay-Z, Madonna and Justin Timberlake. Women who frequent the mecca that is his New York store have claimed that his tall stilettos elicit visceral reactions like shortness of breath and heart palpitations. Lucky for you, his e-commerce shop will launch in a few weeks.

Has the fact that you come from such a long line of shoe cobblers helped your career at all?
Well I think I had a harder time. I went to Parsons and went in a totally different direction from my family. I didn’t get any help from them. My dad is proud of me, but he doesn’t understand what I do at all [laughs.]

Are there any common footwear faux pas that you see on the street that make you wince?
I hate those platform shoes with the seesaw on the bottom. What are they called? They’re supposed to get rid of cellulite. But what’s the point of those things? They’re so bad, and they’re everywhere. And I know you girls like them, but Uggs are just Ugg-ly, okay?

For the record, I’m with you on the Uggs. Do you design according to what the trends are?
Not really, although I know that there are some people who probably wish I would.

Are there any trends that you feel especially excited or bummed out about now?
I really wasn’t into the kitten heel at all. I’m like, either make the effort and commit yourself to the high heel or where flats. Learn how to walk in heels or just wear flats, you know? The kitten heel is just not that sexy.

Do you think that shoes should make a woman look sexy?
I like for my shoes to make a woman not only feel sexy, but confident and strong. And it’s the same with my men’s shoes. When I wear the shoes, I want to feel sexy in them. I think we all want that.

Speaking of men’s, you have a huge sneaker pimps following. The Tron style is especially hot right now. Are you a big sci-fi fan?
Oh yeah. I had the Tron Atari game when I was young. It’s funny because when I opened my store in New York, I thought I’d have all women’s and just a little section of men’s shoes. But now it’s half women’s and half men’s. It’s fun designing for both.

What are some common mistakes that you see women make when they purchase and wear heels?
Well, a lot of them should practice first. Don’t buy more height than you can handle. When a woman goes to the store, she should ask about the pitch of the shoe. That’s something that most women don’t think to do. But that’s what really determines how high the shoe is, it’s not so much about the heel. It’s all about what’s happening inside the shoe. And make sure that the shoe can hold your foot in. You don’t want to be walking down the street with your toe slipping out. I think shoes are like clothes, you want to show just the right amount. When a toe hangs out of the shoe, that’s like the footwear equivalent of bad cleavage.

Name: Jennifer Thiel

Occupation: Sales manager

What she’s wearing: A Zara skirt and blazer, American Apparel t-shirt, Carrera sunglasses, K-Swiss sandals and vintage handbag

If she could ban one accessory from existence she would choose: “Crocs. But wouldn’t we all?”

- Becky Sweeney

Considering that this was the starriest Cannes Film Festival in recent memory, you’d think that the red carpet fashion would be stellar. But, no. It was a bit all over the place. With the exception of a pretty Uma Thurman moment here and a glamorous Zoe Saldana moment there, the celebretiess didn’t really begin to turn it out on the red carpet until the fashion set gathered for the amfAR gala on Thursday. Here are a few of our favorite looks from the night. Janet Jackson should wear Haider Ackermann more often, yes?

The afterparty for Matthew Day Jackson’s show, Everything Leads to Another, at ritzy Hauser & Wirth was one of the liveliest I’ve been to in a while. That’s simply because the art crowd, normally a jaded bunch, seemed so genuinely giddy about everything. Everyone was either talking about the Venice Biennale, which is now just weeks away; the delectable food catered by Fergus Henderson; the old dilapidated venue, which was instantly recognizable as the house that The King’s Speech was filmed in; or the surprisingly tasty spongecake corpse that had intestines filled with the most amazing mixed berry mousse. Party aside, the art is worth checking out.

For those of you who aren’t bowled over by the season’s ubiquitous maxi skirt, the cute and leggy looks in Carven’s spring/summer collection are like a perfectly painted porcelain bowl of water in the desert. Designer Guillaume Henry has given the historic French house a makeover with modestly priced dresses and separates that fall on the sweet and feminine side of Parisian chic. What’s not to love.

The skinny-rimmed circular shades once synonymous with John Lennon are now rid of the spindly wire frames and revamped in Cutler & Gross‘ chunky tortoiseshell acetate. They’re the ultimate, eye-candy of the season with a pastiche free, polite nod to the hippie-loving, acid-dropping, swinging Sixties. I know we’re all feeling the free loving summer vibe right now, but it’s worth noting that circular sunnies work best on square, heart-shape, or oval faces. Peace out!

– Richard Peckett

Yes, you may work in an office, which means that there are dress codes to consider. But that doesn’t mean your style has to be totally void of personality. Just take a look at this guy, who’s working the preppy look with a club tie, tightly cut blazer and slim chinos. I like what he’s done post-work, with the roughly turned-out lapels and the fact that he hasn’t taken the tie off. Because too often, business types scrunch them into a candy wrapper filled pocket — not a good look. For me, an unbuttoned shirt and loose tie gives a sexy disheveled look that says, “I’ve been to work but now I can go out and have a good time.”

- photo by Zé, The Lisbon Tailor

Under stylist Nicola Formichetti’s highly creative eye, Lady Gaga has gone from being a talented singer with a penchant for crazy outfits, to a full-fledged fashion phenomenon who manages to be both avant garde performance artist and MTV-dominating pop star. The guy partly responsible for that meat dress talks about the making of it all.

In the beginning: Music vs. fashion
“If you’re a high fashion stylist, you don’t touch music. That’s the rule. So when I started working with Gaga, people were really surprised. But I was in a place where I was feeling frustrated with myself. I had been in London for ten years and was ready for a change. I really liked her video for ‘Paparazzi’ and felt like she was taking it somewhere interesting. I loved her look. So I suggested her to a few magazines for a cover shoot. And they were like, ‘No. Who’s that?’ And then I pitched her to V magazine, which I work with, and they said ‘Sure, why not.’ They were the most supportive.”

Like minds: When two ‘crazies’ become one
“We shot her in L.A. I wanted to take her somewhere else that she hadn’t been to. I wanted to bring her more into high fashion. I had brought all of these really amazing clothes—Givenchy, Chanel, Versace. So she turns up to the shoot at 8am in her whole look: outfit, hair, makeup and heels. I was like, “This bitch is crazy. She’s living it.” That’s unheard of. Most celebrities turn up wanting you to dress them. I was mesmerized. And she had this great body with all these tattoos. I told her, ‘You should let me shoot you naked.’ She was like, ‘You have all these amazing clothes, why would you want to shoot me naked?’ I was like, ‘Fuck couture, let’s do naked.’ And she later told me, that’s when she knew that I was as crazy as she is. We connected.”

Fashion snobbery: Reeling in the couture
“It was tricky calling in clothes for her in the beginning because none of the designers wanted to work with her with the exception of Lee [Alexander McQueen] and Miuccia Prada. They were both supportive from the beginning. I remember every single designer who said no. I will never forget [laughs]. And since then, every single designer has come back asking to work with her. So ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. But seriously, who else would you want to see in your clothes? When I styled her in McQueen for ‘Bad Romance’ I just wanted to get her into the next phase of high, high, high concept. Lee said, ‘For me, she is the future.’”

Outfit changes: Seven in one go
“I don’t consider Gaga a celebrity. I consider her a performance artist. Celebrities on the red carpet selling a hideous dress—that concept is so Hollywood and fake and bland. Dressing up like dolls. In a way celebrity, is the death of fashion. Gaga doesn’t work in that formula. She studies the fashion and art world. She’s not just wearing it. When we do the red carpet, we want it to be a bit off. We want it to mean something, like the egg and childbirth at the Grammys. One of my favorite moments with her was our first VMA Awards. The one where she bled to death on stage. And then she changed into McQueen afterwards. We did seven outfit changes that night. We never take a long time to get dressed. We’re very fast. I was standing backstage with all of these safety pins. And they were like, ‘Who are these people?’”

Mugler: Taking it to the runway
“I’m not a designer, I never went to fashion school. And when I was offered the job, Gaga was the one who said, ‘Just do it in your own way.’ She’s not contracted to Mugler. We’re purely friends and just dialogue about it. She’s involved. When she walked in the show, she worked those heels better than the models! She wears high heels at yoga. And Gaga bought every piece and has been wearing them these past few months. But the clothes are ageless, they are for a woman with an attitude. We wanted them to be easy to wear. We focused on the fabrics and the silhouettes. I didn’t want to just do costumes that women couldn’t wear.”

One-up-manship: No pressure
“I never feel pressure to top each outfit. We don’t look at it that way. I’m her collaborator and we both get bored easily. We’re always reading crazy, random things and emailing them to each other for inspiration. We just don’t want our fans seeing the same thing over and over. We’ve had days when we just do the denim and t-shirt but then that becomes a statement in itself. I love denim and am always thinking of ways to do it so that it looks new. But she’s always in leather. That’s her. It’s hard to believe we’ve only been doing this together for two years.”

Follow this man’s Tumblr

Considering how spot-on Nicola Formichetti was in predicting that Gaga would be huger than huge. We picked his brain about another prediction: “Tubmlr, Tumblr, Tumblr. Blogging is dead. It’s all about Twitter and Tumblr. I love that it’s so visually based. It’s huge. When one of my fans posts something on Tumblr and then they see me re-blog it, they go wild. That’s the amazing thing about the Internet, that it allows people to connect with their followers directly.”

My flower habit has spread to the office and I now keep a ceramic jug filled with blooms on my desk. Yup, I’ve become that girl. So at the request of Tina, I’m going to start sharing these changing arrangements with you.

Our street style team is growing and growing! Zé, known in Portugal as The Lisbon Tailor, has been shooting for our local Lisbon edition of Metro in addition to other publications such as Vogue Lisbon for a while now, but I only recently discovered his work when I visited the city back in March. So naturally I had to work him into our global rotation. Lisbon is one of those cities that is known more for its rich, historical treasures than its fashion. That’s what makes Zé’s ability to spot little sartorial treasures on the street all the more impressive. And like the rest of our street style team, he’s got a great personal look himself. Keep an eye out for his images here over the next few months.