Elegnano footwear at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016

photo: Gunther Vansteelant

Meet Belgian shoedesigner Katrien Herdewyn and her women's shoe brand Elegnano, which offers elegant, exclusive shoes made for fashionable, gracious women who are confident. Italian craft and high-tech innovations are being combined into unique designs creating luxury and sustainability.

In 2010 she graduated in civil engeneering at KU in Leuven and in 2014 she graduated in footwear design at Academy of Fine Arts Sint-Niklaas. Because of the two completely different educations, she has a very wide spectrum of interests and set of skills.

You can see and buy Katrien Herdewyn's work at the Designer Market. Friday July 1 open at 18:30 and Saturday July 2 open at 16:00 (free entrance).

When did you realize you wanted to be a designer? How long have you been designing shoes? 
As long as I can remember I was obsessed with shoes. For some time, I designed and made clothes, because it making shoes without the right machinery is very difficult. Only at the age of 23 I shifted back from clothes to shoes.

Pikkpack Shoes at FASHIONCLASH Festival 2016

Anna Gyurkovics Photography

Meet Sara Gulyas, a creative Hungarian shoe designer who lives in Budapest. She graduated as a leather-designer from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in 2013. In the same year she introduced her brand Pikkpack, which is a Hungarian play on words meaning “it’s a piece of cake”. Pikkpack is a flat-packed footwear that the wearers assemble themselves.

You can see Sara Gulyas’ work at the Heritage Exhibition. Friday July 1 open at 18:30 and Saturday July 2 open at 16:00 (free entrance).

When did you realise you wanted to be a designer? How long have you been designing? 
I went to a secondary school of fine and applied Arts when I was 15. I was admitted to the ‘leather-design’ department, this is when my story with and love for leather started and this is when I started designing leather accessories. At the moment, I work with shoes but it’s possible that I will get back to designing bags in the future. I have never been particularly interested in clothes and I would not call myself a fashion designer. I prefer just the term ‘designer’.