Isabella Bowie designed her first pair of shoes when she was 12 years old. “They were bad. Terrible, in fact,” she tells me over coffee. “The drawing is still in my mom’s cupboard.” Now 30, Bowie has been designing shoes ever since. Last July, she launched her own brand, Izie. In a world dominated by sneakers and clogs, her premise is ambitious. “I want to bring the heel back.”
Since launching, Bowie has created five designs, all named after landmarks in the cities she’s lived in, from London, where she is based, to New York. On March 26, she released the Arno, a play on strappy sandals. Her signature shoe, the Port sandal, is inspired by Enzo Mari, the Milanese industrial designer. “I think shoes are a lot more about product design than fashion,” she says.
