If ever there was a modern accessories designer, Cleo B is surely it. The pretty, 25-year-old brunette - full name Cleo Barbour - is a shoe designer made for our web-obsessed, recession-conscious times.
The Cordwainers-educated graduate was lucky enough to snag internships with Salvatore Ferragamo (her godfather knows someone in the Ferragamo family, and put them in touch) and Nicholas Kirkwood: "He's away with the fairies sometimes," she says, "But he was really supportive and sweet. I also learned about Italian standards of shoe making from him."
Soon after, she decided to take the plunge and set up her own label, Cleo B. Why shoes? "Well, it was always going to be shoes or bags. Shoes are more mysterious than a handbag will ever be. They're also more of a challenge because they need to fit properly. They can be sexy... and there's an art to it."
After getting a positive response at the tents during London Fashion Week last February (shoe designer of Charlotte Olympia and socialite Charlotte Dellal ordered a pair, and Dover Street Market snapped up three styles), she was on her way. Cheryl Cole tried on a pair to wear on The X Factor, she told us, but didn't go on to wear them on the show: "I think she wanted a platform."
Now she's selling from her website, cleob.com, as well as Facebook-ing and Twitter-ing like mad.
The shoes, in a nod to the '80s, feature voluptuous heels in suede, with swipes of metallic gold or black patent in a palette of acid pink, teal and black. Prices hover around the £200 mark. Next season will be more grown-up, not as poppy... "And I'm making a bid to bring back the mule." Twitter that.
Cleo B is available at Dover Street Market, 17-18 Dover Street, London W1 (020 7518 0680 / doverstreetmarket.com); online at cleob.com.
Read Fashion Editor Danielle Radojcin's blog about meeting Cleo B
Follow Cleo B on Twitter
Become a fan of Cleo B on Facebook
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Interview with Charlotte Olympia designer Charlotte Dellal
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Pictures: Cleo B shoe, top left, Cleo B designer Cleo Barbour, bottom right
