Hello, friends: have you seen our collaboration collection with Christine McConnell yet? As long-time admirers and followers of this talented artist, it has been a dream come true for us to collaborate with Christine on a collection of shoes. In celebration of our pre-order sale (15% off each pair through Nov. 24, if you’re wondering), we are sharing a bit about the behind-the-scenes process of designing Christine, Kathryn, and Mildred.
Many, many months ago, we first met with Christine to talk about our ideas. Our vision was to capture Christine’s distinctive aesthetic and design dreams, and to translate those concepts into wearable footwear. So, we started with exploring the motifs and shapes that inspired us.
Snakes, bats, and diamonds were some of the motifs that we explored. You may be able to see some of these concepts hinted at in our final designs!
Ingrid Bergman, and Ingrid Bergman’s style, is something else we all loved and felt inspired by. Who doesn’t love Ingrid?
We also looked at vintage shoes from the 1930s-1950s that inspired us. While Christine, Kathryn and Mildred are all unique creations (so, not straight-up historical reproductions), we wanted to remain true to the design shapes and silhouettes of the vintage styles we were emulating.
These vintage shoes demonstrate some of the design features and motifs we wanted to incorporate; for example, open sides, slingbacks, and angular features.
We also set a goal of designing Christine’s collection to be leather-free. So textiles were the name of the game for the uppers, and rubber for the soles, like we’ve done for other styles in our line. In the end, we chose some truly splendid velvets and faux suedes (which is period accurate, you can read about it on our blog here). The texture and feel of these textiles helped lead our color story as well.
Next came the fun part- mapping out the shoes themselves! Christine is, of course, tremendously creative, which made the design process so fun and creatively stimulating. So, we set off with drawings, making specs, and rounds of sampling. We chose which heels we wanted to include in our collection, and settled on two of our most popular options; our super-comfortable Cubans, measuring 3″/7.62 cm and 2.5″/5.08 cm. For Mildred, our flat, we went with a trusty common-sense heel (0.5″/1.27 cm).
We also decided to add an extra-special touch to these styles- on the insole of every pair of Christines, Kathryns and Mildreds, you can find Christine’s own signature, resplendent in metallic silver. Fabulous!
After finalizing our samples, we met with Christine again to choose colors. Once colors were confirmed, we decided on names. Christine is, of course, after Christine McConnell herself. Kathryn is named after Christine’s mother, and Mildred after Christine’s grandmother. Isn’t that wonderful?
Then, at last, the collection became complete. We had Christine Pumps, Kathryn Slingbacks, and Mildred Flats, in our hands!
Bringing this collection to life with Christine has been, in a word, delightful. We are so lucky to get to create shoes with this amazing artist! So, huge thanks to Christine for being such a splendid collaborator.
The Christine McConnell Collection is on sale for 15% off each pair from November 14-24 in our US and UK/EU stores. Order by November 24 to guarantee you get your favorite colors!
Pre-Order is Open
Nov. 14-24, 2024
15% Discount Per Pair
AmericanDuchess.com
