On a side street near Milan's Porta Venezia, it is an office loft with bright white walls, that makes for the Italian headquarters of 28-year-old shoe designer Charles Philip Pozzi (the other one being in Shanghai). Having a mother that is the former editor-in-chief of French and Italian Harper's Bazaar and Cosmopolitan, makes Pozzi no newbie to the world of fashion. In fact, he has fond memories of the time he would spend with the likes of designer Calvin Klein during his childhood years.
After the Milan-born – who is half Italian, half American - completed his Business Management studies at Boston's Emmanuel College, he made his move to the city of Shanghai. Here he would soon start-up a footwear brand with business partner Sheila Pitigala: Charles Philip Shanghai was born.
- Charles Philip Pozzi (Photo Credits: Charles Philip Shanghai)
You see, there is a reason Pozzi made “Shanghai” part of the brand's name, instead of making an effort to hide what some would consider a not-so-glamorous look on a fashion brand. “Shanghai today, is what New York was in the Eighties – everything is possible. We love the city, and mentioning its name in our brand is a sign of appreciation.”
Today his flats are stocked at high-profile department stores around the globe, in addition to having built a celebrity fan-base that includes Rihanna and Jessica Alba. Anyway, back to made in China its bad reputation. Pozzi admits that even Chinese shoppers used to be aversive towards locally produced goods. Nevertheless, the good news is that all of this is changing, which may explain the BRIC country's recent drop in demand for European luxury goods. “The same Chinese consumers which used to shop solely for Gucci and Louis Vuitton, are now also going for the more niche local brands. A lot of well-made Chinese brands are popping up right now, such as Icicle. Furthermore, there are popular niche boutiques which sell mainly Chinese designers. Diong Liang for example, which is basically China's answer to Colette.”
According to the designer who penetrated the market with his signature slippers - which by the way, were the first kicks of this genre to be stocked at Bloomingdale's – the idea of Chinese production being low in cost, is another myth surrounding the East Asian nation. “Unless you produce in massive volumes, you're better off in Europe. Spain is good for example.” Or Portugal. 'Cause three years after the brand its 2011 inception, only part of the Charles Philip Shanghai footwear range is produced in China. “We did a test when we had buyers coming in our showroom to view the new made in Portugal range. We placed one made in China sample amongst them as well. Nobody had a clue. Nobody noticed any differences.”
Charles Philip Shanghai shoes manufactured in China, are currently only available to the Chinese market. Just so we're clear, we're not talking machinery here. No, the Charles Philip Shanghai way of doing made in China, is manual. “In our Shanghai flagship store we have a team of in-store shoe cobblers who can make up to thirty pairs a day. Costumers can witness the process through a glass wall and may request customized shoes in terms of fabric and colour. At the same time, when we notice that one shoe in particular is trending, we can respond to that immediately, oppose to relying on factory lead times. It's a concept we want to start expanding, since the idea of made by hand, adds an additional luxury factor to the product.”
