The Cobblers Bible
BEGAN HIS FASHION CAREER AT THE AGE OF FIVE.
195
Terry was very young when his parents started their own company Waverley Shoes. By the age of five he was helping out in the workshop, hammering wooden dowels into the three tier wedges he was making for the black market during the Second World War. His parents had a lucrative business making quality high fashion shoes for both wealthy West End ladies and Showgirls from The Windmill.
960
0-1
SURPASSED HIS FATHER Terry cut his first pair of shoes when he was on leave from National Service. His father was, by this time, making stiletto winkle pickers. He noticed a pattern his father was working on and realised that he could do it better.
BIG BREAK In 1960 the family’s winkle picker designs had taken off in a big way and he needed as much help as he could get to meet the orders. This is the year that Terry first began to design. People were coming from all over the country to buy his shoes and queuing up from dawn till dusk to get their hands on a pair. Terry’s big break came in1964 when his designs were featured in then-fashion magazine Queen. They were an instant success and started Terry’s career as a shoe designer.
‘I can honestly say that my first memory is of shoes; platform shoes with ankle straps worn by my mother and made by my father, the house was always full of them. I guess you can say that shoes are in my psyche.’ Terry de Havilland
SWINGING LONDON By 1969 Terry had discovered the mind blowing creative effects of LSD. The London fashion scene was in full swing and he was bang in the middle of it. He designed his coloured snakeskin three-tiered wedge - which quickly earned him fans including Bianca Jagger and Bette Midler. In 1972 Terry opened the ‘Cobblers to the World’ store on the Kings Road. The opening party was a riot of champagne, cocaine and caviar and was packed out with all the faces, from rock stars and groupies to fashion journalists and gangsters.
197
SUPER 70’S
0
98
0-1
Throughout the 70’s the brand thrived. Terry de Havilland shoes were doing 14 trade shows a year and the shoes were being sold right across the planet. He designed Tim Curry’s shoes for the Rocky Horror Show, brought back the stiletto for a Zandra Rhodes catwalk, and made red silk lined black leather thigh boots for Jackie O.
THE LUNACY OF THE PUNK MOVEMENT By the end of 70’s the Terry de Havilland name was put on ice and in 1980 Terry set up a new label called Kamikazi which made shoes for Punks and Goths. In the space of a year the company were making over 800 pairs a day and shipping them all over the world. Prophetically in 1988 Kamikazi took a nosedive and crashed.
TRUE LOVE & MAGIC SHOES Undeterred Terry set up a new company in 1989 called Magic Shoes, once again producing footwear for the alternative street scene. In 1990 Terry met his future wife Liz and they began to work together to build the brand. By the mid 90s the label was being stocked by Anna Sui and Paco Rabanne. As Europe was the brand’s main market at the time, the strength of the pound, coupled with the burgeoning business of cheap Chinese manufacture proved to be the death knell for Magic.
BACK TO THE ‘COBBLERS TO THE WORLD’
000
Fate struck yet another blow on Christmas Eve 2001 when Terry had a minor heart attack. Terry and Liz shut the shop in February 2002 and decided to build on their editorial successes and concentrate their efforts on re-launching the Terry de Havilland brand. Terry had more presence in museums than retail shops and this needed to be redressed. After a 20 year absence he decided it was time to once again design under his own name.
0-2
MORE PRESENCE IN MUSEUMS THAN RETAIL SHOPS
199
The same year they decided to open a shop in Camden Stables Market and name it ‘Cobblers to the World’. The shop became a mecca for fashion stylists and costume designers and soon Terry was creating shoes for international fashion magazines and movies such as Tomb Raider.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION In 2006 Terry was nominated as Accessory Designer of the Year at the British Fashion awards, and in 2010 he was awarded with a Drapers Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to footwear design over the last 50 years.
TODAY
020
0-2
200
Today Terry is a Visiting Professor at the University of the Arts in London and makes couture shoes for many high profile fans such as Ana Matronic, Kate Moss, Alison Goldfrapp, The Jagger clan, Kelly Osborne, Sienna Miller, Pixie Geldof, and Cara Delevigne. With a design studio in London’s East End, a store in The North East and with production of his menswear line in the design stages, Terry shows no sign of slowing down and the brand Terry de Havilland continues to go from strength to strength.
‘I cannot imagine giving up designing shoes. What would I do with my time? Terry de Havilland
Elena wears The 2014 ‘Deco’. The original 1970’s ‘Deco’ is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum collection.
Elena wears The ‘Lyla’ from The SS11 Collection.
Mina wears the orange ‘Zia’ Platform from the SS15 Collection. Zia is a classic disco diva electric block heel, that reappears each season in different colours.
Mina wears the ‘Mao’ Platform from the SS15 Collection, that reapiers eash season in different versions.
Sophie wears The ‘Joni’ Boot from the AW13 Collection.
Sophie wears The ‘Tropical Jaquetta’ from the SS13 Collection.
Jamie wears The ‘Brogue Navy’ from the Men’s Collection.
Jamie wears The ‘Brogue Black\Wine’ from the Men’s Collection.
Tom wears the ‘Brogue Balck’ from the Men’s Collection.
Tom wears The ‘Spat’ Boot from the Men’s Collection.
Rafailia Biniakos loves her mother’s ‘Mimi’ Heels. The original design of ‘Mimi’ is showcased on display at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.
“Rock ‘n’ roll - it seems like it’s faded away sometimes - but it will never die. And there’s nothing you can do about it.” Alex Turner - The Artic Monkeys