Marilyn Monroe famously once said-? Give a girl the right shoes and she can conquer the world?. Today this is applicable to all men and women. Footwear is more than just an accessory to the outfit but has become a symbol of what you want the world to perceive of you- whether it is elegant or sporty, intricate or brute.

Footwear designers are placed with the burden and responsibility of constantly being able to develop creative, imaginative as well as functional designs for shoes and other footwear like sandals, flipflops etc. The designer must be able to cater to the diverse nature of a human?s life in that he must be able to provide casual, formal, athletic, purpose based footwear. In addition to having a flair for colour, texture and patterns being used in an imaginative way, the designer must also have a reasonable understanding of the foot autonomy in order to be able to create sustainable and comfortable footwear for their customers. They must be conscious of factors such as structural integrity, comfort and material efficiency in addition to purely being aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They also have to keep themselves updated with the upcoming trends in the market so that they are able to cater to the needs of the masses.

Footwear designers more often than not sketch the design on paper and then creates the prototype using different kinds of material. This profession involves a large amount of trial and error and to ease this process, footwear designers often investigates the opinions and views of different people at fashion shows and other formal as well as informal events.

Footwear designers have now created a fashion statement out of the simplest form of accessory, being shoes. One of the most famous footwear designers in Christian Louboutin. He stumbled upon his life?s passion by accident. At the young age of 13, he took a trip to the museum and saw a sign indicating that high heel shoes were not permitted there. He was fascinated by the picture portrayed in the sign depicting the elegance of high heels. He is most popularly known for his patented red bottomed soles. He believed that the red soles were synonymous of haute couture, luxury, glamour and fierce energy.