John who? John Kenner is a new Pinoy shoe label, and our own answer to Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo.
A collaboration between fashion designer Cesar Gaupo and young businessman Kenner, Gaupo designs while Kenner manufactures and markets. Together they have come up with a line of couture-quality made-to-order shoes, comparable to – or maybe even better than – anything you’d find by a foreign shoe designer, at a fraction of the price.
"It was interesting when I found out that Kenner was making shoes of good quality," says Gaupo. "But they lacked design, resources, materials.
I thought, why not come up with real designer shoes with the kind of quality that Kenner’s doing?"
Gaupo had been busy as a long-time couturier and RTW designer for global fashion house Shanghai Tang. Kenner had been in the shoe biz for almost a decade, joining bridal fairs and custom-making shoes for gym matrons. Before Gaupo took over the design duties, Kenner was known for quality shoes that were literally for walking on the wild side. "We did samples of crazy ideas like putting flowers on shoes, and using hair and teeth as embellishments," Kenner says.
The current Cinderella-worthy creations were born out of Gaupo’s frustration with the ready-to-wear shoes available locally. As a fashion and bridal designer, he was always on the lookout for the perfect shoe to complement a gown or a wedding dress. But, more often than not, he wouldn’t find it. "Before, I would make the clothes, and my problem was the shoes," he says. "I would always check designer brands, but they’re really so expensive. So I thought if we can come up with price points that are affordable but couture, why not?"
Even if he had no prior experience in shoemaking, Gaupo found that designing shoes came naturally. "My knowledge about constructing clothes the couture way – you can apply it to making shoes,"he says.
One look at John Kenner’s spring-summer collection and the Carrie Bradshaw in you will struggle to come to the surface. Gaupo designed 40 pairs of high heels so ultra-fashionable, wearable and – key word: comfortable – you’ll be tempted to give in to your inner Imelda. Divided into bridal, resort and evening categories, the shoes are made from 100-percent silk, the butteriest suedes, and the most luxe leathers sourced from abroad. Sandals come in every color of the rainbow and every possible style, from closed-toe to super-strappy, laceup to T-strap. Some are liberally jeweled and beaded, while others rely on an interplay of colored or woven fabrics to achieve eye-catching effects.
"Everything I drew are my favorites," Gaupo says, laughing. "When I finished and analyzed it, I realized that my inspirations were somewhat African and Moroccan. The colors are mostly aquas, sea greens, and sea blues, but everything has to have brown because the look is very natural. I mixed leather with silk." He points to a vixenish pair of heels. "This is snakeskin with plain leather. I also used metallic leather and crocodile." The straps of thong sandals are crafted from natural semiprecious stones, while a T-strap sparkles with Swarovski crystals. "They’re couture, but they also look nice with jeans. The contrast is nice. It’s all about fusion, actually."
The only thing you won’t find in John Kenner’s current collection are of-the-moment platforms and flats. "Everything is high," says Gaupo, "I also want to prove that women can wear flats in the evening and still be sexy, but Kenner loves women wearing high heels. The effect when you look at the shoes is instantly sexy and feminine."
Another thing you won’t find is a heel below three inches. One pump is the ultimate mix of naughty and nice. Covered in ladylike pink brocade with a gold bow, it sports a black spike heel that measures in at a towering four to five inches. Can this possibly be comfortable for anyone but a dominatrix? But Kenner, who has spent years researching and developing his shoe technology, assures me that a woman can teeter in his stilettos for hours and not come home with aching arches. The secret, apparently, is in a little strategic padding and most importantly, the last (a form shaped like the human foot over which the shoe is made). "If you’re developing your own shoe lasts, that’s where the comfort of the shoe sticks,"Kenner says. " We use fiber lasts, not wooden. With our climate, wood gets dry with time, so sizes change after how many months. Fiber doesn’t change."
Gaupo recalls how a client refused to wear anything above three inches, claiming they were too uncomfortable. But when she fit her custom-made three-and-a-half-inch Kenners, she was pleasantly surprised. "She said, ‘Wow, I can actually wear them, and they’re so beautiful!’ It’s the way you mold the shoe to an individual’s foot."
How can you snag your own exclusive pair of John Kenners? Go to their showroom on Henry Javier Street in Pasig (near Valle Verde Country Club and ULTRA), where their holiday collection is currently on display. "We’ve done all the samples,"Gaupo says. "You just have to go inside the showroom and look for who you are." Once you choose the style you like and they measure your feet, Kenner’s shoemakers handcraft your shoes for approximately two weeks, then you have your first fitting. After your last fitting, when you confirm that everything’s okay, it takes one week to finish the shoes. They’re then delivered to you in a large suede-beige or sky-blue "jewelry" box, with a steel label of the shoe design where you can actually put a photo of your new shoes for easy identification.
A basic pair starts at P10,000 which, if you’re doing the math, is a third or a quarter of what an imported designer shoe would cost. Think of it as an investment buy. Kenner says that not only are the shoes durable enough to last for years, they also get more comfortable with regular wear.
Next year, Kenner plans to export the shoes to Hong Kong, Japan, and other Asian fashion capitals, with an eye to conquering America and Europe in the near future. Finally, the Philippines will be able to boast a global, haute-couture shoe brand of its own, on par design-wise with the more venerable fashion houses of Europe.
And what woman worth her designer stilettos wouldn’t want to partake of Kenner’s vision? "If you have a very nice pair of shoes, you feel beautiful, you feel powerful," says Gaupo. "Everybody looks at you, envies you."
Adds Kenner, "If you ask all the ladies, do you want to wear high-heeled shoes? If it’s not painful, all of them will say yes."