CLEO B is a British luxury footwear brand, which features designs that are original, wearable and feminine. The shoes are high-end but more accessibly priced than traditional luxury goods.
Retail Digital visited the CLEO B stand at this year’s London Fashion Week and instantly fell in love with the brand’s spring/summer 2012 collection, ‘It’s Like That’. We caught up with designer Cleo Barbour to find out more about the new range and her inspirations.
Retail Digital: What is the history of the CLEO B brand?
Cleo B:I launched the CLEO B brand along with an autumn/winter collection in 2009 and we opened the boutique in March 2010. Before that I trained at Cordwainers College in London and I did quite a few lengthy internships with Nicholas Kirkwood, Georgina Goodman and Sarah Gardner in Italy.
RD: How would you describe the CLEO B brand?
CB:CLEO B is really for people searching for something quite unique. The bags and accessories are luxury products but without the luxury price tag; I think that is very special. The brand is just for people who like to really express themselves with what they wear and who are not fashion victims. It is for those looking for something timeless and just something that everyone else won’t have.
RD: What makes you different from other brands?
CB:A lot of brands today have a very fashion victim image but CLEO B is more about being fun, expressing yourself and not caring what anyone else thinks. Our designs do fit in with trends generally but we offer something different to anything that is on the market.
RD: What inspires you when you are designing?
CB: Anything and everything inspires me! When I get inspired it kind of just infiltrates my brain, like the eighties hip-hop theme did. The current season is a gypsy and fortune teller collection, which is quite refined and traditional. It is smart and wintry.
The collection before that was magicland, which was like a dreamy fairytale range of soft colours and suede. The first ever collection I did was birds of paradise and the second one was an Arabic-inspired range.
RD: How do you hope to expand the brand in future?
CB: I will continue to design fun, unique and high-end shoes and bags. Right now I am also considering launching a bespoke collection where you can choose your colours and leathers. Watch this space.
RD: What was your inspiration behind the It’s Like That Spring/Summer collection?
CB:I saw the image of a pink cassette tape in a magazine while I was designing and it kind of got me on to this whole eighties vibe. I was listening to Run DMC at this time and I used a lot of the lyrics throughout the ‘It’s Like That’ range. The collection is full of eighties colour and hip-hop inspirations.
RD: What do the eighties mean to you then? Why did you choose to base your entire collection around this era?
CB:The eighties was the birth of popular culture and a time that people became more free and able to express themselves.
RD: Could you give us a run-down of your new collection?
CB: SUCKER M.C.s are the key piece of our collection. They are crazy and have not been done before. We are deciding at the moment if we are going to make them limited-edition or not to increase the appeal of the shoe and make it even more special. The SUCKER M.C.s have caught loads of attention so far.
CB: The BOOM sandals are just a crazy idea that just amazingly worked
CB: Sugarhill is a real take on the classic CLEO B shoe-boot. It has three plumes of colour across the front, which is really simple but effective. This is what I try and achieve with all my shoes.
CB: The bow at the back of the Jam Master Jay shoes is a really big thing. I think it’s really simple – it’s massive chunky, weird and I quite like it.
CB: The Cassette Pouches are our first ever bags.
