It’s not every day that a designer’s first pair of shoes ends up on the feet of Lady Gaga, but that’s exactly what happened to Mo D’accori — 10 years before launching his namesake luxury footwear brand in 2021.
Known for unique styles including angular wedges, flared heels, vibrant patterns, audacious platforms and an array of lush colors, the brand is certainly one to watch, with more celebrities like Katy Perry and Kim Kardashian showcasing D’accori shoes in recent times.
The London-based D’accori, who was selected as part of FN’s Emerging Talent List in 2023, told Footwear News that he grew up with a desire to devour all things pop culture — that was his window into fashion.
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“I went to a very scientific school, it was very strict. My background was not art. I grew up in Jordan, the fashion scene there was not happening,” he shared. “My resources were the Internet, the pop culture, what’s happening in the gossip tabloids, what are the celebrities wearing? This was my inspiration. From there, instead of studying math and science and all of that, I was sketching dresses and shoes.”
For him, there’s just something special about shoes: “My background is in womenswear and menswear, but I’ve always went towards the shoes. I felt always the shoes completed the outfit.”
D’accori’s youthful creative dreams led him to the London College of Fashion, and he soon began wading into the waters of footwear design.
“I would go to this man in North London who would teach me in my spare time after university, he would teach me how to make shoes. And from there I slowly built my first pair of shoes, and then I did a second one,” he told FN. “It’s always fascinated me, the whole shoe process. Because it’s like a puzzle, it’s not a simple, ‘I’m going to come up with something, and tomorrow I’m going to do it.’ It’s a process. I’ve always enjoyed it.”
D’accori shared that the design process is rooted in interacting with the components that could potentially make up a shoe.
He explained, “I don’t usually sketch that much. I prefer to see the materials. I choose the materials before I make the pair of shoes and I kind of visualize it in my head and go like, ‘Oh I feel this material would work very well in this style of a mule, or this would work very nice on a court heel.’ So it kind of always starts for me with the material, and then I do a rough sketch, then I have to play with the last and start drawing on the last.”
His materials are varied and his silhouettes distinct. The Angel Wedge, which has been worn by Kim Kardashian, plays with the typical pump construction by incorporating the brand’s signature wedge heel, which is notably angled inward. The Ruby mule, which has been worn by Katy Perry, applies the heel to a backless patent leather style with a single strap. The dramatic strappy Belle sandal not only features a daring platform but also a prominent hourglass-shaped heel.
How does the designer define his Italian-crafted shoes? “Sexy. Comfortable. You can dress it up or dress it down.” Celebrating women, he explained, is within the DNA of his brand.
D’accori finds inspiration in fashion photography from the ’90s and ’80s, specifically naming Helmut Newton and the duo known as Mert and Marcus. He’s also a longtime fan of Daphne Guinness — “she’s always been my muse.”
Picturing the future of his label, D’accori doesn’t see himself sticking exclusively to footwear. From clothing to perfume, his vision is expansive.
“I want to become a whole 360 brand,” he said. “My next goal is to introduce a new category. I would love to have the whole D’accori girl — she’s going to have the outfits, she’s going to have the bags. It’s going to evolve. I don’t want to limit myself just to shoes because I see it as a whole 360 brand.”
And where does the D’accori girl fit into the world? “She’s global, she’s everywhere. She’s a city girl, she loves to vacation as well,” he said.
After Lady Gaga wore D’accori’s shoes in 2011, he ended up designing an outfit for her that she wore for a performance on “X-Factor” in France in addition to another pair of shoes she wore in Australia. Ten years later, she wore D’accori again in 2021 — a gleaming pair of Belle sandals — in what the designer refers to as a “full circle” moment, marking a decade since she first showcased his shoes. Perhaps Gaga could be considered the first-ever D’accori girl.