Hetty Rose Footwear: Reviving Vintage
by Teresa Louise Johnson
With the launch of a ready-to-wear collection in 2011, the
hetty rose footwear brand (http://www.hettyrose.co.uk/) is
branching out. The plan is to also include baby shoes, men’s
ties and bags along with the handmade shoes. hetty rose is
dedicated to the sustainable creation of products; vintage fabrics
and materials are reused and reworked to make one-of-a-kind
footwear. Designer henrietta rose samuels’ unique take on
footwear is the culmination of years of education in Footwear
Design and Development. hetty’s fascination
with shoes began early, when the designer
was taken with her nursery school teacher’s
shiny red shoes. her personal collection of
shoes has grown over the years into a large
collection of inspirational vintage pieces.
The concept for the hetty rose brand was in
its research and development stages while
hetty was earning her degree. she graduated
in 2005 but before she founded her company,
hetty made shoes in her free time that
received positive attention at exhibitions. by
2007, she’d designed a line of sample shoes
for London Fashion Week. hetty’s brand
philosophy is uncomplicated and admirable:
to make an environmental statement in an
aesthetically pleasing way.
The brand is most certainly aesthetically pleasing; the fabrics alone
are remarkable. 7 years ago, hetty found panels of vintage kimono
fabric while travelling in Japan. she was told that young Japanese
women are uninterested in traditional kimono outfits so the vintage
kimono silks are left rejected. hetty worked with the fabrics back in
her workshop, after discarding her clothes in order to fit kimono silks
in her suitcase and flying home. eventually, her decision to grab up
the kimono fabric concluded with a striking, colourful and daring
Kimono Collection of footwear.
hetty rose sometimes collaborates with other designers, like
yukiness, a designer of theatrical wigs. hetty fondly remembers their
colourful window display for Valentine’s Day with crystals and
handmade love hearts (pictures are found in the event section of the
74 a DisTinCTiVe sTyLe . Com
hetty rose website.) The yuki shoe has been well-received by clients.
Workdays start early at the hetty rose studio and last until after
7 p.m. she works with students some days, giving them hands on
experience to complement their studies in footwear. networking
and fashion events often take up evening hours, but her friends and
family members can be found helping out when things get chaotic.
Working on an industrial sewing machine she
inherited from her grandmother, hetty uses
materials like reclaimed timber to hand carve
heels and vegetable-tanned leather (both
untreated and toxin-free) to hand cut soles.
she keeps two notice boards with inspira-
tional photographs, fabric swatches, vintage
jewelry pieces and images from magazines
near her work station. The creation process
of bespoke hetty rose shoes speaks to the
designer’s dedication to quality and fit. First,
a client chooses a design. Then, fabric. next,
she has her feet measured and some days
later, she meets with the designer again to
for a rough fitting. Then, the shoemaking
begins. a fitting, sans a proper sole until
perfect fit is satisfied, is the next step before
hetty completes the shoes (with soles and
heels) back at the workshop. hetty keeps
clients posted on the development of their shoes by email. (see a
video of the process at: http://www.hettyrose.co.uk/how).
hetty’s returning clients enjoy the uniqueness and exclusivity of
hetty rose footwear. They like having a say in the design and style
of their shoes; hetty even tells them the origin of the fabric they’ve
chosen and if it has any significant meaning. she says her shoes
“tell a story.” even the colour of the lining inside hetty shoes is the
client’s choice. brides are attracted to the idea of shoes specially
made for their big days; some save up just to buy a pair for an
exceptional occasion.
The hetty rose brand is something clients can put themselves into,
but not only that: it is something they can believe in.