Sophia Grace Webster (born 18 March 1985) is a British shoe and accessories designer who launched her eponymous footwear line in September 2012.
She is renowned for a feminine, bold yet playful design approach which has led to distribution at over 200 retailers worldwide.
As a teenager, Webster was a competitive dancer. She attended
The Rochester Grammar School before going on to study art and sculpture at
Camberwell College of Arts
Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgra ...
in London.
Realising she wanted to create shoes, Webster went on to
Cordwainer
A cordwainer () is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. This usage distinction is ...
s' College at the
London College of Fashion
The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, in London, England. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses, study abroad courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therap ...
, and then studied for her MA at Royal College of Art.
[ Afterwards she worked as an apprentice with Nicholas Kirkwood before setting out on her own.][ '']Footwear News
''Footwear News'' (sometimes referred to as ''FN'') is a weekly print publication on the topic of women's, men's, and children's footwear. Founded in 1945, its coverage is for the fashion design and fashion retail industries. It was originally pub ...
'' named Webster the "Emerging Footwear Designer of the Year" of 2013, and she also appeared on ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' 2013 New Power List as someone to watch.[ In 2014, '']Marie Claire
''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on wo ...
'' named Webster as one of 7 designers who represented the future of British fashion.
In 2013, Sophia Webster was awarded the British Fashion Award for Emerging Accessories Designer.
Webster's shoes were selected as part of the Dress of the Year
The Dress of the Year is an annual fashion award run by the Fashion Museum, Bath from 1963. Each year since 1963, the Museum has asked a fashion journalist to select a dress or outfit that best represents the most important new ideas in contempora ...
ensemble for 2013 at the Fashion Museum, Bath
The Fashion Museum (known before 2007 as the Museum of Costume) is housed in the Assembly Rooms in Bath, Somerset, England.
The collection was started by Doris Langley Moore, who gave her collection of costumes to the city of Bath in 1963. The ...
. Chosen by the fashion blogger Susanna Lau
Susanna Lau (born 1983) (known as Susie Bubble) is a British journalist and blogger. She got her start as a fashion blogger.
Early life and education
Lau was born in the United Kingdom. Her family comes from Hong Kong.
Lau studied history at ...
, the pink-and-black sandals with stiletto heels accompanied a Christopher Kane
Christopher John Kane (born 26 July 1982) is a Scottish fashion designer based in London.
Biography
Kane was born as the youngest of five children in Newarthill, North Lanarkshire, to an engineer and draughtsman father and housewife mother.
K ...
dress and hat by Nasir Mazhar
Nasir Mazhar is a British fashion designer. He is best recognised for his inventive approaches to sports caps and headwear. Lady Gaga has worn a few of Nasir Mazhar's hats.
Biography
Mazhar was born in East London and brought up in Leytonstone, L ...
.
In June 2015 Webster's Riri shoe went on display at the Victoria & Albert Museum as part of their 'Shoes: Pleasure and Pain' exhibition.
In March 2016, Sophia Webster was the recipient of the BFC Vogue Fashion Fund award. The fund helps support emerging British designers with financial support as well as mentoring from industry experts. In May later that year she opened her first official store on Mount Street Mews in Mayfair.
References
External links
Official Website
1985 births
Living people
Shoe designers
British fashion designers
People educated at Rochester Grammar School
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