My name is Celine and I grew up in Huntington Beach, California. I like to joke that I was born in high heels, and although that's obviously not true, I was born with the "shoe bug" in my blood.
My father, a former professional soccer player, came to the US from Morocco in the 70's. He started off as a shoe salesmen (insert Al Bundy joke here) and had a natural talent for it. He worked his way up and eventually co-founded a company called French Follies. They made cute little espadrilles and ballet inspired shoes. From there he went on to Guess and Charles David footwear, where he eventually became President of the company and brought it to its height of popularity in the late 80's.
I was so lucky to grow up around shoes. I was the only girl in the 8th grade wearing the kick ass ankle boots Guess was famous for... and remember those Guess jellies?? Yep. I had those too. And at a whopping hundred bucks a pair, let's just say I made a lot of new friends when I came to school in those! Thats the first time I felt the power of a hot shoe.
In the 90's, my dad left Charles David/Guess Footwear to pursue a new venture... bebe Footwear! It was his first shoe license, and it was super successful. He also started his own line with his namesake, Joey O. From there, he got the licenses for lines like Laundry by Shelly Segal footwear, Antik Denim footwear, Playboy footwear, Zinc foowear, Hale Bob footwear, Badgley Mischka footwear, Betsey Johnson footwear, Betseyville footwear, L.A.M.B. Footwear, Harajuku Lovers footwear, Jill Stuart footwear, and JLO Footwear. Awesome, right!? :) did I type "footwear" enough?
So... like I said, shoes are in my blood! I realized this at an early age, when I would go into my mom's closet and pull out her shoes and clear off my book shelves, fill them with shoes, and put a sign up that said "Shoe Show". I didn't really know what it meant, other than that was where my dad was always flying off to. Shoe shows. I wanted to be a part of it!
I went to design school in Milan, Italy when I was 20. My professors at Ars Sutoria taught me all about making shoes, including sketching, pattern making, leather tanning, and lots of technical shoe stuff. It was intense.
From shoe school to designer! After graduating from my shoe program I went back home and started working as the assistant to the designer of my dad's company,
Titan Industries. At the time, we were only making bebe and Joey O Footwear, and were about to go after our second license, JLO Footwear. I was a part of that project and I loved it! It was so exciting putting what I had learned to use. I was off to China and working my butt off. I was the assistant to our head designer for a little over a year when I got offered the job of taking over as the designer for Playboy. It wasn't anything I had ever thought I would do, but it was a chance to be my own designer! No more assisting!!! I took it! Then, a few months after accepting the position as designer for Playboy, I was offered another line; Zinc footwear! I took it!!! I loved working with Zinc. The clothing was cute and the shoes were much more "my style".
Later still, about a year ago, I was given the job as designer of JLO footwear. I also recently got the job of designing the Harajuku Lovers collection which we launched in August this year. I love this new collection and I can't wait for them to be available in stores! JLO is an international only brand, so I never get to see the fruits of my labor.
I love my job! I get to work with shoes every day. It's my job to look at shoes in magazines, online, in stores, and on the streets. It's a dream job honestly, and I feel lucky every day. My obsession is my job! So cool!
So anyway, here I am. Here's my blog. I hope you've enjoyed reading it so far. It's been fun for me and I hope that shows. :)
Thank you all for reading and for those of you who comment. Every new comment in my inbox makes me realize that I'm not talking to myself. haha
(All images: WireImage)
