Lew found his interest in designing shoes for women because many of his lady friends complained about their designer shoes not being comfortable enough.

“While I couldn’t go to any design school, I was fortunate enough to have met and learned from many great designers from countries such as Italy, Japan, Germany and Australia. On top of this list, however, is my own fellow Malaysian sifu dato Professor Jimmy Choo, from whom I got a chance to learn a lot,” he says.

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Today, the brand – which is primarily known as Lewré Bespoke – boasts an impressive history of designing for royalty, celebrities, artists and world leaders. “Our products are 100 per cent custom-made and handcrafted by highly skilled artisans with over 40 years of shoemaking experience. Besides, with my own 35 years of shoe designing experience and vast exposure in the global market, we’re a serious player and professionally designing high-end ladies footwear with superior craftsmanship,” he says. “We believe we’ve built a certain name and trust in this beautiful profession I’m passionate about.”

Inception of Lewré Bespoke as a world-class brand

It’s never easy building a new brand from scratch. “I launched my label in 1997 after being in the market for 10 years designing shoes for different haute designers such as Ben De Lisi, John Rocha, Arkadius Weremczuk, Melinda Looi and Eric Way,” he recalls. “I feel really great when I can say without pause that my collections are so outstanding that the retail stores can’t resist carrying my label today. Most importantly, Jimmy Choo himself was present to cut the ribbon for it at the time. It was an honour for me.”

The ultimate moment for Lew came when the British Malaysia Chamber of Commerce (BMCC) invited him to attend and design six pairs of shoes and two matching clutches for Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, during her visit to the country in 2012. These were later presented to her as national gifts by the then king and queen of Malaysia at the National Palace.

“Just after this, my label started appearing in the top media outlets from the Western world. I felt honoured,” he says. “I also got a call to design a single piece and a matching clutch for the first lady of China, Madame Peng Liyuan as a national gift to mark the 40th anniversary of China-Malaysia relations.”

The brand has also designed shoes for the current queen of Malaysia and other royalty in Malaysia and Brunei. “We’ve designed for our own superstars such as Siti Nurhaliza, Sheila Majid, Shila Amzah, Michelle Yeoh, etc.”

Lewré’s inspiration and role model

Travelling often gives Lew ideas to reflect on. “Doing meditation with a calm mind too can be a beacon for clearer visions that come from conceptual thoughts in the first place,” he says.

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Salvatore Ferragamo is the one designer who has been a source of inspiration to Lew for many years. “I’ve been a big fan of his since I started in footwear. He came from a big family of 14 siblings and I grew up with 15 siblings. We were both from a poor background,” he says. “I just adore him for his creative shoe designing talent. He designed shoes for celebrities like Marilyn Monroe.”

Lew believes Ferragamo’s dedication and passion, and a keen focus on high-end women made him an icon in that era. “His made-to-order service became a trend for the future,” he says.

Comfort is key

Lew prefers to use leather, particularly fine and soft leather from the calf. Then he turns to fabrics such as silk and Duchess satin from Santa Croce sull'Arno in Tuscany, Italy, which remains his favourite place to source materials. “At times some materials are sourced from Spain, India, China or the Philippines,” he says.

Lew insists that any shoe design must be comfortable. “It’s crucial for us to have this comfort embedded in our high-heeled shoes,” he says.

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To ensure the brand delivers bespoke service, Lew makes sure that everything is done to achieve perfection with a personal touch. “Here we try to understand each individual’s lifestyle and character. Her feet play an important role in designing a right pair of shoes. This is how personal I become when it comes to creating that bespoke design I want to give to my clientele,” he says.

His latest collection titled “520” is inspired by the Princess Diana to whom, he says, he wanted to pay a tribute with a magnificent collection that mirrors her grand persona. “Although it’s been 20 years since the death of HRH Diana, we still remember you and we love you. We’ve used natural birthstones as the key embellishments from a garnet for January to a diamond for April to a sapphire for September. It is a personalised and custom-made design for each individual,” Lew says. “As part of the collection, there is one pair of shoes called 520 (embellished with 1,188 diamonds of 32 carats) which won [a place in] the Malaysia Book of Records as the most expensive pair of ladies shoes at 5 million ringgit [US$1.2 million].”

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Celebrity endorsement and future agenda

Lew favours the concept of celebrities endorsing brands around the globe, saying: “It’s always an encouragement and recognition for a great name endorsing your work.”

Lew intends to become a major player in the years ahead. “We embark on smart footwear leveraging the loT and AI towards data collections which will enable us to understand our customers’ lifestyle. Designing individualised footwear that could provide each individual with a perfect fitting is the next big thing waiting to happen. This could be the future in shoemaking,” he says.

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