Atalanta Weller

The East End of London is without doubt a hub of creativity, spawning high profile names such as Gareth Pugh, Henry Holland, Giles Deacon, Richard Nicoll and Jonathan Saunders (to name but a few) over the last couple years alone. The latest designer to shoot from Shoreditch to stardom? Shoe designer Atalanta Weller.

Her name may not be familiar, and she’s so up-and-coming that she doesn’t even have an official PR yet, but Atalanta Weller is already being mentioned in the same breath as Giuseppe Zanotti, Pierre Hardy and Christian Louboutin. A graduate of Cordwainers college in London, she learned her trade through stints with the likes of Clarks, John Richmond, Bruno Magli and Hugo Boss before letting her imagination run wild and finding her niche with the new generation of Bright Young Things on the London fashion scene. Inspired by the architects and furniture designers she shares her studio with, Atalanta’s creations are anything but ordinary – she’s created graphic woven ball shoes for Gareth Pugh, she collaborated with BMW on a shoe made entirely from car parts and the slick, futuristic, nearly two feet high platforms that she created for Henry Holland wouldn’t look out of place in an art gallery.

But if you think that her pieces are avant garde, magazine-spread only, then think again. The brightly coloured, cut-out shoes that are designed for Sinha-Stanic’s spring 2008 catwalk show had fashion editor’s reaching for their credit cards. And Atalanta’s latest collaboration with House of Holland, a decidedly sporty sling back with a sci-fi feel hits stores this month – we’ll race you to Browns to get a pair.

Right now Atalanta is working on Henry Holland’s a/w 2009 collection, and there’s rumour of an eponymous line– so watch this space…

By Emma Sells