Neworld, Great relationships build great brands

So the other day as I was walking through our design studio I stopped to look at what one of our Designers was working on. As we do a lot of work with luxury brands, she had images of beautiful designer shoes on her screen. My heart started to race a little bit and I wanted to explore in detail the various offerings of shoes I saw before me. I never realised before how passionate I am about shoes. My adrenaline started to race through my body and it made me think “what is it about shoes that does this to me?”

I know that I need to have shoes like I know that I need to eat and breath. It would not kill me if I had to wear the same pair of shoes every day, however, I have to admit that a small part of me would die if I couldn’t wear a different pair every day. I am far from the only female who feels this way – most of us do. When I researched this I found out that on average a woman owns 20 pairs of shoes at any given time – hands up I own more!

So what is this obsession with shoes? According to co-curator of the Shoe Obsession Exhibition at the Museum of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), shoes are “an intimate extension of the body and seem to say so much about our attitudes, aesthetics, sexuality and social status”. “Maybe it’s because shoes are sculptural. Clothing when not worn just lies there flat and lifeless. Shoes, on the other hand, have an autonomous quality”.

When I thought about what was it that started my obsession with shoes it was around the time I was watching the TV series “Sex & The City “. The main character Carrie Bradshaw gave women permission to come out of the closet about their obsession with shoes. She promoted the very expensive designer brands e.g. Louboutins, Manolo Blahniks or Jimmy Choos. These brands have become aspirational to most of us and it’s my secret dream to one day own a pair of any of these brands.

Shoe size rarely changes either with weight or age and so our self-esteem is not hurt if a pair of shoes does not fit unlike a dress or a pair of jeans. In actual fact, a pair of shoes instantly changes my mood for the better. When I put on a pair of high heels I immediately feel like my legs are longer (and at 5’tall this is very important to me). Shoes can change my posture and this evokes an inner feeling of confidence – a bit like putting on a smile can make me feel happy. The great thing about shoes is that we can change this message and mood every day or even twice a day if we want. Today I am in my flats which means I’m busy running around getting stuff done, at the weekend I am going to a party so I will be wearing my high heel silver sparkly sandals and I know I will be the party mood.

DEIRDRE O’SULLIVAN, H.R. MANAGER

Dee has been part of the Neworld family for nearly 25 years, having worked in many roles in the company she has been our HR Manager for the past 10 years and this is her favourite role so far. Dee believes our “USP” is our wonderful talented staff and it is her job to keep them happy. Our ethos is “great relationships build great brands” and we strive to have great relationships with all members of our staff and this comes across to our clients.