FIDM Footwear Design Alumna Leila Kerze Living in Italy Working For Donald J Pliner
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FIDM Alumna Leila Kerze won the "Donald J Pliner FIDM Design Challenge" last year, started freelancing for the company shortly thereafter, and is now living and designing footwear for Donald J Pliner in Florence, Italy!
Name: Leila Tamar Kerze
FIDM Grad Year: 2009
Campus: Los Angeles
Major: Footwear Design
Age: 27
Job Title: Footwear Designer
Company: Donald J Pliner
Where are you working now and what do you do? I design footwear for the Donald J Pliner and Lisa for Donald Pliner lines.
So, you're living in Italy, working for Donald J Pliner. What's that like? Italy is beautiful and mad. I absolutely love it.
How did you feel when you won the Donald J Pliner FIDM Design Challenge last year? Delighted.
How do you feel winning the Donald J Pliner Design Challenge has helped you in your career? Winning the contest was my introduction to Donald. From there I started freelancing for the company. Soon after, I was hired full time and traveling to Italy, China, Miami and New York to work on the shoes.
What inspires you when you’re designing? I hate to be vague, but I draw inspiration from every source—travel, eras, science articles, icons, etc. Music is crucial for me and I always have something playing.
Who is your style icon? I love Kate Lanphear's style. So many others too, Anne Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela, Tom Petty, Audrey Hepburn, the Clash, Kurt Cobain, the list goes on.
Kate Lanphear at Paris Fashion Week Fall '10
What’s your favorite item in your wardrobe? Either all of my grandma's Native American rings or my fingerless arm warmers that I wear because my hands get cold all the time and normal gloves get in the way of drawing.
What’s your dream fashion purchase? I wish that my Anne Demeulemeester wedges were not "talkers" (they creak like a wooden attic with every step) so I could keep them, but I have to return them. They were my dream.
What are the biggest footwear trends for Fall 2010? Lots of boots and booties. Overlasted wedges. Laces and buckles.
What fashion websites/blogs do you love to visit? The Sartorialist, Jak and Jil Blog, Style Bubble, Sea of Shoes, Fashion Toast
Do you have your own blog or website you’d like us to list? Shoelosophy
Who’s your favorite artist or designer? William Blake. Calder. Miro.
Blake illustrated his own poetry, turning words into pictures. He also talked to angels. But in all seriousness, it's difficult to take one form of art and turn it into a different media. I sketched a collection of shoes in school inspired by Blake's poems and it was not easy to turn a poem into a shoe, but it was lots of fun.
Calder's mobile sculptures delight me.
Alexander Calder's Hanging Mobile "Sumac II," 1952
Miro's art is beautiful and dilapidated. I really love things that are beautiful and a bit worn down.
How did you know FIDM was the right college for you? Because I wanted to design footwear.
How did you decide on your major? I went to FIDM specifically for the footwear program so it was pretty easy for me.
What was your favorite class at FIDM? Nancy Riegelman's rendering classes. She is an amazing teacher and we were encouraged to be our most creative and make the most beautiful things under her instruction.
Any advice for current Fashion School Students? Working long hours and not leaving anything half finished or sloppily construed. Get an internship or job asap in your field of interest. Think of every contest and every day, as an opportunity or a job interview. Present yourself as the person you want to be seen as.
What is your biggest goal right now? Perfect my Italian and find a new apartment in Florence.
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