Features

7 Minutes with Neelofa on her collab with Giuseppe Zanotti

07.12.2019

By Stephanie Boey

7 Minutes with Neelofa on her collab with Giuseppe Zanotti
Giuseppe Zanotti collaborates with our homegrown star, Neelofa for a collection of statement heels.

Long before the birth of the hypebeast movement and the sneaker phenomenon, there was already a magical connection between a woman and her shoes. Take a look at the age-old story of Cinderella and her glass slipper, Sex and the City‘s Carrie Bradshaw and her love for statement stilettos as well as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz who needed to click her glittering ruby heels twice to get back home to Kansas. When it comes to people IRL, former first lady of The Philippines, Imelda Marcos is notoriously known for owning at least 1,000 pairs of shoes. (We’d like to see her shoe closet!)

 

“It’s every girl’s dream to have shoes designed for her”, says Neelofa as she speaks about her recent collaboration with Italian designer Giuseppe Zanotti. The news of the venture came as quite the surprise to her, especially since she’s already a big fan of the designer himself. “I’ve been wearing his shoes for many years, so to have this opportunity really is surreal to me”. The collaboration brought forth Zanotti’s well-known platform pump —The Liza— and was redesigned to fit Neelofa’s personality and style. The heels are available in two variations: The ‘Dazzling Liza’ comes in a baby blue hue wrapped in suede, decorated with glittering crystals while the ‘Mirror Liza’ shines in metallic gold. We had the pleasure of chatting with the Malaysian star at the launch of the collection in Pavilion KL. Read on as we speak to her about her latest exciting venture and her plans for 2020.

 

 

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Which features of the ‘Dazzling Liza’ and ‘Mirror Liza’ can you relate to your personal style?What I love about these designs is that they are for different type of women, but also carry the same message. For the ‘Dazzling Liza’, it’s glamorous and striking; whereas the ‘Mirror Liza’ is edgy and bold.

Would you say these archetypes also describe your personal style?Yes, I love to experiment! I love to evolve with fashion. I can definitely rock both designs with different styles.

What do you think sets Giuseppe Zannotti apart from other brands?I can wear his shoes for hours! I can even run in these shoes, because they’re that comfortable!

 

7 Minutes with Neelofa on her collab with Giuseppe Zanotti (фото 1)

Tell us more about your first design meeting with Giuseppe Zanotti.We met in Paris and we were brainstorming for 3 hours; choosing the materials and sketching. After that process, Mr. Zanotti and his team in Milan took over to recreate what we ideated.

What was your favourite part about the designing process?To see him live sketch in front of me and choose the materials with him was like a dream come true. I’ve been wearing his designs for many years so it’s a very special moment for me.

If you had to sum up your personality in a type of shoe, what would you be?I used to be stiletto! But now as I grow and evolve, I think I’m more like a standard pump.

You’ve conquered head scarves, shoes and even banana milk! What’s next for you, Neelofa?More food and beverage products, for sure. I’m going to kick off a daily delivery food service next year. We’ll be starting with the Klang Valley, and will be serving authentic Kelantanese food (like Nasi Pelauk). It’s currently in the test run phase but we’re hoping to launch in January 2020!

 

The Giuseppe Zanotti and Neelofa collection is now exclusively available at Giuseppe Zanotti Pavilion Kuala Lumpur.

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