All his own work

Rupert Sanderson, shoemaker

He may not be as famous yet as Manolo Blahnik or Christian Louboutin, but Rupert Sanderson is building up a reputation for understated, elegant shoes. The UK designer, who quit a promising career in advertising to learn about shoemaking at Cordwainers, part of London College of Fashion, founded his company six years ago, after training with John Lobb in London and Sergio Rossi and Bruno Magli in Italy.

He was in Dublin recently, and, craftsman that he is, spoke about how his work is inspired by the materials he works with rather than by random imagery. "There are no visual fireworks," he says.

Interesting silhouettes that flatter the foot are what distinguish his shoes. The sleek lines and sensuous curves in a black, blocked-toed platform, for example, are notable for line and proportion rather than ephemeral decoration. "It takes 10 years to know what you are doing, to build up an arsenal, an aesthetic signature," he says, adding that he's very much a hands-on shoemaker, and spends a lot of time in his factory in Bologna.

His collections - each shoe is named after a variety of daffodil - are aimed at discerning customers whose choices aren't driven by branding, and he says that he has no desire to compete with the global giants - "I think it's because making shoes was what I was always interested in, not with working in fashion."

He doesn't chase celebrity endorsements, declining to offer free shoes to film stars or other paparazzi targets. "There's an element of restraint that prevents me from going all-out [ in terms of design], and though I have flirted with the idea, it doesn't chime. It's not my customer base, and though sometimes I think I could take more risks, I always come back to what I feel is true, such as getting the last right, getting the shape right."