Michelle Obama

The Bbc , the weekly-in-chief-series-profiles of various executives from All over The World . This Week we talk with Shoe designer Luis Onofre.

Luis Onofre openly admits that his first foray into the luxury-shoes-design would have to be his last.

The Portuguese designer, launched his first namesake collection in 1993, shortly after the acquisition of His Family in The Shoe factory.

His father had warned him, it wouldn't sell, and his father was proved to be correct. The consumers were not interested in, and The Shoes bombed.

"My lack of knowledge of the market was to blame," Says the 49-year-old. "It was heartbreaking, a great lesson for me. It was very humiliating. "

Today, things are quite different. Luis glamorous designs are sold worldwide, and Michelle Obama , the actress Naomi Watts , socialite Paris Hilton among his fans.

He was also help a symbol of a current renaissance in The Portuguese Shoe-makers, the country is firmly back on the Haute Couture map.

Luis , born in Oliveira de Azemeis, near from Porto, in Northern Portugal, grew up around shoes. His grandfather opened a Shoe factory in The Town in 1938, and The Business of The Family is always there.

By the late 1980s, Luis 's father runs The Business , the Lafayette production of high-end shoes for French brands such as Cacharel and galleries.

asked when he to connect with Luis , the society, the younger Onofre was reluctant, after his heart on the study of interior architecture.

"I remember the stresses that have brought my parents and think, 'I want to Run Away , that,'" recalls Luis .

He changed his mind however, and took a degree in footwear design, before he became the Managing Director of The Company in the year 1993.

Keen to shake things up, he had The Factory , the production of their own designs, not only from Other People . And to see The Pain , his first collection flop is only determined him to reach his Goal .

"I, I wanted My Own brand, but after my first attempt went wrong, I decided to gain some experience and resilience in the Region. This sector is constantly changing, fashion is changing, new technologies are changing All The Time . "

For The Next Six Years , he continued to produce shoes for other brands, while honing his design ideas on the page.

Finally came his moment in the year 1999, when he launched a 50-piece collection at Momad, a great Shoe fair in Spain. The interest in the brand, grew up The Next big investment in marketing and sales.

"We have started The Shoe fair in Milan, Paris, and Moscow", Says Luis . "Clients are started, the more exclusive designs. Our collections are always more complex. "

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Today, he is best known for his women's shoes that retail for around €300-€400 (£265-£355; $335-$445), and All of them are made in Portugal.

His designs have been described as "sexy" and "decadent", and often integrate elements such as Swarovski crystals or vertiginously High Heels .

Now in Porto, The Business turned over €8m Last Year and employs 60 people in its business, factory and flagship stores. It will continue to shoes for other brands like Jimmy Choo and H& M.

Despite his successes, to overcome Luis had strokes of other reserves, as a business man, as an industry downturn in the 1990s.

Portugal, The Shoe -making sector is centuries old, and considered on a par with Italy and Spain, although less well-known. But in the late 1980s, it was hit hard, after Portugal joined the European economic Community - the forerunner of the European Union in the year 1986, the opening of the economy to foreign competition.

the country of The Shoe industry was not ready for The Change , and many factories had to close, in The Next ten years. "In the early 1990s, we lost almost All our international customers that we had," recalls Luis .

in Portugal, is the reputation for the footwear production decreased in the knee, but Luis and other future-oriented were determined to end Designer to save it.

"We had A Generation of factory owners who don't understand Contemporary Fashion , or what has been sold internationally," he Says .

in the last 20 years, but he has a New Wave of "open-minded Says have brought" Designer, fresh ideas to The Table and turned things around.

Portugal has regained its reputation for high-end design, factories were converted, and thousands of new jobs have been created. It's helped the country a major player in the global Shoe market, with exports in the total amount of €1. 8bn in 2019, from €1. 3 billion in 2010.

Paulo Goncalves , spokesman for The Portuguese footwear, components and leather goods manufacturers Association, describes Luis as part of a "fresh generation of designers", which led to The Change .

"Luis brought a new discourse to The Shoe industry, putting the talent and creativity at the forefront of a strategy for internationalisation," he Says .

Luis -business continues to face challenges. Shoemakers from All over Europe were already struggling with a weaker consumer demand and the growing competition from China, when the Corona Virus hit pandemic. Now, the global market for luxury goods is in a freezer.

To help, the during the global health crisis, Luis Shoe production stopped in his factory in the last month, thousands of masks that were donated to Portuguese nationals.

Shoe production is now running again, and Luis , the focus on the increase in online sales than physical stores around The World closed. He is also betting on a recovery in the Asian markets, the further to the front in the lifting Covid-19 limitations.

Source of news: bbc.com