A retrospective look at shoe designer Bettye Muller's life might suggest that she's done so much already. So why design shoes? Bettye, a New York native, spent her early years as a competitive ice skater and ice skating instructor, graphic designer, shoe model and soap opera actress. In 1980s, while living in London, she created her first small collection of shoes. She soon returned stateside, moved down to Miami and eventually returned to NYC and launched the shoe label carrying her name in 1998.

Bettye has formerly designed for several companies including L'Emporio, Henri Bendel, Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis and Linda Allard for Ellen Tracy. That experience and exposure in some ways has shaped Bettye's designs. In that sense it is what her customers have found so appealing. Bettye's vintage designer shoe collection may also serve as a source of inspiration since it once exceeded 500 pairs. Bettye may be influenced by another shoe or design, but will always reinterpret it her own way. However, this source of integrity is not fully felt by the shoe industry. Bettye is increasingly concerned with people copying her styles.

Bettye's designs are definitely eye catchers and it is obvious that her heart permeates through the designs. When speaking with Bettye, she charismatically explains her passion for shoes and what they mean to her. She talks about mixing and matching the shoes with evening wear, or dressing them down with jeans and the like. As we speak, I can just imagine Bettye hard at work sketching designs or walking down the lines of her Italian factories with a critical eye. Her showroom is an inviting small space located in midtown Manhattan. In this space, the shoes are the eye candy, graphically mesmerizing the visitor. You are instantly taken onto Safari tract, then brought to any given area in London, transported to Old Hollywood and given a tease from the Orient. Bettye Muller's shoes range from men's style lace-ups, knee high boots, kitten heels, espadrilles, stilettos, open toe pumps, to pretty much everything in between, if there is anything else to capture. The colors are vibrant, the fabrication selective, while the designs range from minimal to abstract, and conservative to provocative. Bettye mentioned to me that she has kind of been labeled as a designer of women's shoes with that girly/feminine touch, and it is easy to see why. But at the same time, there are shoes for women who want to parade around demanding attention with a prolific gait.

We picked Bettye's brain on the state of the shoe market, her design inspirations and where she sees the brand ultimately going.

Fashion Ledge: What is the single most important factor/ or is there a factor that heavily weighs on what you will offer to your client each season (trends, new styles, comfort)?

Bettye: It is difficult to narrow down all of the factors that go into the making of a collection. For me, there isn't one factor. It is always a combination. I'm an intuitive designer and don't only focus on trends, but what I feel is right for the time.

Fashion Ledge: As the Bettye Muller collection evolves and grows, what is important: staying true to your core customers, or trying to reach out and grasp new ones?

Bettye: Both staying true to core customers and developing new ones are keys to being successful.

Fashion Ledge: I noticed while looking at the collection, that there is no detail left undone from the stitching to arrangements of the prints. While offering your customers this continual impeccable quality, do you as a designer sometimes feel people take it for granted?

Bettye: I know my customers appreciate the details. I think that is part of why they keep coming back. Customers don't necessarily have a good understanding of the "behind the scenes" like I do, but I don't think they take it for granted.

Fashion Ledge: As far as production goes, explain a little about how it has worked for you in Italy and what have been some problems you've encountered (maintaining on-time delivery for stores, repeated trips to Italy, etc.)

Bettye: I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that you have to stay on top of the factories continually in order to ensure the quality and timely delivery that my customers have come to expect from me.

Fashion Ledge: At the end of the day when you leave the design studio, what brings you the most joy when you think of all you've ccomplished?

Bettye: I find joy in the designing process. That is why I'm still doing it! I still get a kick out of seeing a girl walk down the street in a pair of my shoes!

Fashion Ledge: What can we ultimately expect from Bettye Muller in the future? Where is the brand going? Bettye: Staying true to my original vision of creating beautiful shoes with fine details and beautiful materials.

For more information on Bettye Muller:
12 West 57th Street
Suite 1003
New York, NY 10019
http://www.bettyemuller.com
info@bettyemuller.com
Rebecca/ Sarah
Phone: 212.246.3298
FAX: 212.246.9274