LONDON — Nicholas Kirkwood is marking 10 years in business with a neon science fiction mash-up of leather and sparkle that he describes as a completely self-indulgent collection — and a very pricey one.
The British designer will unveil his 10 creations — inspired by the toy boxes, TV screens and arcade computer games of his youth — in a static presentation at London Fashion Week on Saturday.
The shoes, in their glowing, flashy, pixelated splendor, will be made in a limited number for customers who pre-order at the Kirkwood pop-up, which opens at Selfridges on Sept. 20, and via trunk shows globally.
Kirkwood, who was born in 1980 and whose business is majority owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said this latest outing is akin to a couture collection. “I want these shoes to exist, to be the way I wanted them to be. It’s 100 percent a creative project and I was completely free with it. I’m not here to sell a whole load of them,” said the designer over a cup of tea at The Connaught, a few steps from his Mount Street boutique. He was wearing a pair of knitted, mint green special-edition Stan Smiths with black laces that he bought in L.A.
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The silhouettes are based on styles from the last 10 years, and all of them feature the designer’s signature platform. They’re seen through a lens of Kirkwood’s childhood memories of “Star Wars,” Pac-Man, and the film “Back to the Future.” Square crystals and laser-cut pajettes mimic pixelation, while twisted satin is made to resemble the electrical wire from the golden body of C-3PO. Embellishments also include Pac-Man-style eyes made of suede and leather, and glow-in-the-dark laces and glass crystals. Kirkwood and his Italian factories pushed the envelope by using micro-marquetry and fine embroidery techniques, cut a material traditionally used for Exit signs into glowing wave patterns, and crafted heels from Plexiglas and mirrors.
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One of the highlights is a model called Neon City that Kirkwood called a play on “super-bad taste, like an Eighties arcade.” It’s a patchwork of neon, leopard, glow-in-the-dark laces and wave designs.
The shoes will come packaged in big cardboard boxes like the ones used for plastic action figures. The displays at the presentation will resemble infinity mirrors.
Kirkwood said the party to mark the anniversary will make guests feel as if they’re “immersed in an arcade and Eighties club.”
Prices range from $2,700 to $6,900, depending on the style. After taking orders at Selfridges, the designer plans to sell the collection via trunk shows and pop-ups around the world with partners including On Pedder, Level Shoe District, Le Bon Marché and Bergdorf Goodman.
The designer will also sell iPhone cases and small accessories, such as totes, as part of the collection.
Kirkwood is part of a generation of London-based talent, including Erdem Moralioglu and Roksanda Ilincic, marking a decade in business this year. The past 10 years, he said, have taught him one thing in particular: There’s still a lot to learn.
“Even my pattern cutter who made all these shoes and who I worked super closely with is like 70-something years old, and he says he’s still learning. You’re constantly having to think of solutions, because these are not the easiest shoes to do. A lot of things were trial and error but that’s what makes it exciting.”
The majority investment by LVMH two years ago, Kirkwood said, has allowed him both to focus on the product more, and to invest in growth. The future, he added, will be about adding categories such as jewelry, minaudières, bags, sunglasses and leather goods.
His dedicated website for the anniversary is nicholaskirkwood10.com.
“There is a whole world of accessories which I would love to do,” said the Central Saint Martins and Cordwainers graduate, adding that the first up will be fashion jewelry, which he sees as a natural progression. “You’re designing around a body part. I’d really like to apply my aesthetic to that,” with plays on volume, he added. He said he plans to get going on that project in the next few seasons.
The future also holds more collaborations and one-off projects, as Kirkwood wants to ensure “there is always a mental, creative energy that I can work on, as well as fine-tuning the collection itself.” He said he’d like to collaborate with Jeff Koons one day and there’s a big place in his heart for Pop Art and Op Art.
“For me it’s about graphic, flat pattern that can play with your eyes — and a lot of optical illusions. All that type of stuff I find superfun — I love it. I try to keep a hint of that within the collection. I love unexpected combinations of colors, and I’m interested in the graphic nature of materials.”
Kirkwood described his mainline collection for spring 2016, which he’ll present to press in Paris, as “very sharp and graphic and feminine, and full of outlines and stripes. There are a few new heel shapes and another new technique that I’ve been working on,” that features mirror effect on see-through mesh, he said.
The future will continue to be a balancing act; Kirkwood is all too conscious of wanting to make his mark commercially.
“I want to be a creatively led business that just happens to be massive. If I said I wanted to be tiny and niche I’d be lying,” he said with a smile.