Interview with Kobi Levi – Lady GaGa’s Double Foot Shoe Designer!

Cinderella is an example of how life gets better once a shoe fits right, but here It brought the shoe designer into the limelight. Yes you read it right, desibeauty spoke to the designer whose shoes found their way into Lady Gaga’ s feet in the”born this way video” and since then there is no looking back for him.

• You seem to have set a new trend in foot wear designs, taking something regular like a piece of footwear to a new height. Your take on this ?

Thanks for the compliment. My designs reflect my approach to footwear and what I see in them, which is art to wear. I don’t see it as a trend, but as a design language, which blurs art, design and fashion and is glamorous with a sense of humor.

• How was it designing the double boot for the famous celebrity Lady Gaga?

The Double boot was designed in 1998. It was chosen by Gaga’s talented stylist Nicola Formichetti to be included in the music video “Born this way”. I’m very flattered to be included in this amazing video. Gaga and her team made a great artistic video and it’s an honor to have a tiny part in it.

• How good or bad have your early career days been?

I’m still in my early career days. My work has only been exposed to the international media about 3 years ago. At the beginning it wasn’t even available for sale. About a year ago I started to sell my hand made shoe designs on a larger scale and now I’m working on a more commercial shoe line.
It is a big challenge to offer such an alternative, artistic product and make it worthwhile from the business aspect. The reactions I receive from people are amazing and it helps me and my team to follow our goals.

• How much has your life and career changed after catering to a client like Lady Gaga?

The fact she wore my Double boots brought a lot of attention to my work and I’m grateful for that. Now they keep following to check new designs that come out all the time.

• Your personal style when it comes to footwear, do you experiment too?

I try to experiment myself. I like to wear my own designs as well as others that I can get my feet in. There are not as many choices for men as there are for women, as women simply have more fun with their looks so the choices are greater.

• Are you open to requests from the Middle Eastern clients or have you had any?

Yes of course, I’m in the Middle East myself. Anybody can order my designs through my website www.kobilevidesign.com
I’ll be happy to know my shoes are finding their way everywhere!

• Please tell us something about your new collection Violin.

The Violin shoe design was first created for an exhibition in the Stradivari museum in Cremona, Italy, where various artists & designers where asked to create with the classic violin as the inspiration. I chose to design a classic high heel shoe silhouette with a lot of details from the violin to follow the shoe shape and parts.

• Your best selling and most popular wearable sculpture?

People like different things as each design is so different than others. The “Chewing gum” and “Swan” are the best sellers so far.

• What are the challenges you face when you turn an inspiration into a wearable sculpture?

The working process starts with sketching the image from different angles. Then proceed to a 3D model. Next I need to search for the correct last, carve or cast heels, make the pattern and test it and source the material. Then I confirm that everything looks and fits together, assemble all the parts and finish the shoe.
It’s a very long process with many different challenges at every step. Mainly because everything is done by hand.

• Are these wearable sculpture really safe and comfortable to wear, as some of them like roller coaster challenge the standards?

All the shoes on my website are wearable. They are just like any high heel shoe, but their unique look makes people think they are more challenging than others. Try them on and you’ll be surprised.

• Is your celebrity clientele limited to only Lady Gaga and Whoopi Goldberg?

So far they are the two ladies you mentioned have been seen wearing my shoes. It’ll be amazing to see my creations on more celebrities.

• List a favorite among your own footwear designs, and how you got the inspiration for this particular design.

I like all of them. They are like my kids.
As the designs show life through my eyes, I like pieces that emphasize that like “Miao”. In this design the cat pose and the details are very accurate. I also like the motion freeze in “Coffee” and “Chewing gum”. I like it that they are surprising with their theme choice as well as the interpretation of it in the design.