SD_YOHANS

Selam D Yohans' bespoke collection, produced for the luxury footwear market, was inspired by her unique cultural background and heritage. As a British-Eritrean woman, there was a strong impetus to explore the beautification practices within her culture, particularly the pain and mindset at its core. Yohans pays particular attention to the self-inflicted pain and psychology that lies at the heart of beautification, as well as the materials, colours and symbolism it encapsulates. Yohans' Collection, 'A Rough Story Sweetly Told', probes into the complexity of beautification through the construction and silhouette of her shoe designs. "With any beauty method that involves a degree of pain, the process is always complex and I wanted to convey that complexity predominantly through the shapes of my designs, both in the silhouette and surface details of the upper, thus producing an innovative and striking collection." The collection was handmade in London, employing her own new construction technique which involves the lasting of the heel in-between the lining and the upper and a braided seam, made of tiger wire and leather strips, acting as both a functional and aesthetic feature.