Iva Minkova

Iva Minkova: ‘I was four when I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer, because I liked to draw people and not houses. My god-mother was a dress-maker, so that was my fate. But it wasn’t until a friend took me to Dover Street Market for the first time and I saw a stunning sculptural pair of shoes, sitting on their own on top of a white plinth, that I realised footwear could be something to do. This took me to the Royal College of Art MA program and to some of the most inspiring brands that I had looked up to for so long.

But after years of working by the industry’s rules and bringing other designers’ vision to life, I felt it was time to propose a new, fresh and uncompromising take on low impact modern luxury. I wanted to create something precious, something desirable and meaningful, and to find an ethical approach to shoemaking.’

Finalist for the perfume project for Joop!, won the Ossie Clark Award in 2012 and was a runner up for the Manolo Blahnik Award in 2012.


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