SHOE ARE YOU? ©: EILEEN SHIELDS
Bursting on the scene in February 2004, shoe designer Eileen Shields has made quick work of getting to the top echelon of shoe designers. A designer at Donna Karan for more than a decade, before she journeyed out on her own, Shield’s creations, now sold at Harvey Nichols in London, Dublin and Edinburgh, her own gallery-boutique in Dublin, and at Girlshop and Anthropologie online here in the states, have made it into the hearts of celebs from Bono to Halle Berry, P.J. Harvey to Drew Barrymore.
Her designs have an old-world quality in their traditional last shapes, and are infused with a sense of fun in the square toe boxes and mixing and matching of materials from red suede to gold metallic, black velvet to striped two-tone leathers. Her take on the ballet flat, the Juliette, has become ubiquitous shorthand for those in the know looking for a refined and unique take on the ballet flat phenomenon. 
And, exclusively for you here, we preview the sketch of her new style, the Eva, the first shoe ever commissioned by Eva Longoria herself for the hit show, Desperate Housewives, (with a special request to take the heel up to Eva’s preferred five-inch heel height, of course!).
What are you favorite pair of shoes and why do you love them so much?
That’s like asking me ‘which one of your children is your favorite’? So, I’d have to say them all, but one of my favorites this season is the Juliette in black haircalf. It’s divine – the perfect flat, sexy shoe made like a sneaker but is as light as a feather. For me, it’s all about your toe cleavage when you wear a pair of flats and I wanted to make the shoe barely cover the foot (the t-strap is there to hold on the shoe!)
What do you like to wear with them?
With out a doubt, Sharon Wauchob or Zero/Maria Cornejo. Absolutely delicious modern clothes!
If you could walk in someone else's shoes, who’s would they be and why?
Walking the streets of Monaco in the 1960's as Grace Kelly. No matter what pictures I see of her today, she looks so incredibly modern. And every pair of shoes on her feet were beautiful! For some reason in the places where I make my shoes in the Tuscan hills of Italy, her legacy follows me around. I see pictures of her everywhere, she visited these places so often. They always inspire me so much!
What type of shoes do you like to see on the opposite sex?
Chelsea boots of any kind. They are the perfect footwear for men.
Most you ever paid for a pair of shoes? Least?
$750 Ann Demeulemeester’s and $2 Chinese slippers from Chinatown.
Pair of shoes you want to be buried in?
Absolutely ballerinas. For years as a child I was afraid my bed would fly away in the night and I’d wake up in a field lost, so I used to spend ages every night balancing a pair of shoes on my bed post, one on top of the other so at least I’d have shoes to walk home in— even then, I had my priorities right about what girl needs to survive!
Shoes you wore on your last date?
The Jessica in red haircalf from my collection.
Shoes you were wearing for your first kiss?
Black haircalf flat platform mod lace-up shoes. I was fourteen and obsessed with the band The Specials!
What pair of shoes changed your life?
The Sam in my collection is named after my young son who has changed my life more than any shoe could!
If you could buy a pair of shoes for someone, who would you buy for and why?
My two amazing sisters and my mom. They are the most critical people I know in the world and are so completely different. It means the world to me when they love and wear shoes from my collection.
Pointy or round toe?
Oval!
Stiletto or flat?
Both, I can’t live without either of these.
On men you prefer: Wingtip or cool sneaker?
Cool sneaker but wingtips are one of my favorite shoes on earth. The true craftsmanship is incredible, it truly takes nearly two hundred pairs of hands to make one pair.
Your favorite charity or good cause and why?
Definitely GOAL. This international humanitarian charity helps to alleviate the suffering of the poorest of the poor and manage to do it on an administration cost base of less than 5% per annum – 95% of all funds raised go toward helping those who need it most.
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