From the moment I featured Deborah Lyons' label 
Méchante of London,I knew her shoes would be a big hit with shoe lovers. Her attention to details and love of the craft is something I truly admire, so it's with pleasure that I include Ms. Lyons as part of the DreamCatcher Series.
Hi, Ms. Lyons, could you please tell us a little about your background?
I was born and raised in London. I studied fine art in London, Paris, and Florence, before moving to NY to go to Parsons. At Parsons I studied fashion design and that’s where I learned shoe design too. As soon as I graduated I went back to Italy to the factories, and spent time learning the craft from the artisans themselves. Soon after I launched Méchante of London.
How was your experience at Parsons? And Did you receive any training from famed shoe design professor Howard Davis?
{Laughs} I didn’t but I know of him of course! I loved being at Parsons. It took me a while to get used to the fact that I actually had to go to class and couldn’t talk my way out of it. But I found it an extremely creative yet structured environment, which was exactly what I needed.
What is your design process?
It starts with fabric sourcing and then illustrations. I then put everything up on my wall, and normally end up bringing it all down a few times and start over. It could take me weeks but it usually has to be done in about 10 days, so I have to know my inspiration well in advance.
What inspires you?
Music, art, film, club-kids, travel, people, markets, fabrics.
Do you have any favourite designers?
Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen, Pierre Hardy, Vivienne Westwood, and so many more.
Keep your costs as low as possible and your quality as high as possible.
What can we expect from Méchante of London in the future?
Higher heels, larger collections, maybe a collaboration, and some bags.
Besides your beautiful shoes, what else are you passionate about?
I love to paint, music definitely, passionate people, my family and friends.
Do you have any plans to expand into handbags or women's wear?
I have just launched jacket line Nonoo Lyons with a good friend for Fall. I don’t have any formal plans to expand Méchante just yet but I’ve got lots of ideas.
What's your definition of a "DreamCatcher"?
Funny I was having this conversation with a friend of mine who is a designer yesterday. I’m not sure if you ever can catch your dreams, because I think you have new ones all the time, but things would be really boring if you stopped the chase.
I'd like to thank Ms. Lyon's for her time and her awesome PR person Stephanie {People's Revolution}, for helping make this happen. Please visit Méchante of London to see more from her Spring and Fall '09 collections.
All fotos courtesy of Deborah Lyons/Méchante of London for usage on SheBreathes™.
