What makes a successful shoe designer?

What makes a successful shoe designer? In the past year or so I have been searching for the newest and hottest shoe line, and if it were not for ShopBop and Kelly Ripa on Regis and Kelly, I would not have discovered my two new favorite designers. If you look in fashion magazines, it is all the same designers- Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Gucci, Balenciaga, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Giuseppe Zanotti, Miu Miu, Alexander Wang, Alexander McQueen, Brian Atwood, Versace, Pierre Hardy, Nicholas Kirkwood... and the list goes on. And as beautiful as these designers' shoes are, I am tired of seeing the same shoes in which I can always pin point the designer before looking at the caption. Give me a sexy, inventive shoe that has me frantically scan the caption, waiting to be woo-ed by a new, exciting brand that begs me wanting more.

On that note, I have been also trying to figure out why certain brands are so popular over the rest. For instance, Louboutins have the red sole that is coveted across the world. Blahniks have dainty designs and the shoes feel weightless. Brian Atwoods are sky high stilettos.

Then, we have my most recent coveted designers signatures- Charlotte Olympia and Camilla Skovgaard. Charlotte Olympia has the heavy, but chic and sexy platform. Camilla Skovgaard has the saw bottom signature. Both designers have that simple, but edgy touch that to their pumps that makes them stand out. They make the outfit.


My question is when do we get to see the young, hip, emerging new brands in the top fashion magazines? Don't we want to see fashion to evolve and to see other designers thinking outside the box, regardless if they are a well known fashion empire? I know a few fashion magazines do articles on emerging designers, but during the editorial shoots, the shoes are back to our standard designers.

So, who is the next great emerging shoe designer that we all must know about and deserves that place in Harper's Baazar?