Meet Robert Clergerie in Lane Crawford

TRADITION AND MODERNITY
PASSION AND ORIGINALITY
QUALITY AND SAVOIR FAIRE
MADE IN FRANCE

Robert Clergerie is associated with style, simplicity and purity of the design, as well a good fitting.  
Established since 1981, Robert Clergerie’s first store opened in Saint – Germain – des Pres in Paris, 
and until today is closely involved in the creative development of the Robert Clergerie collections.

And now in the Lane Crawford ifc mall, 

there is a photography exhibition providing an insider’s view of a day in the 

life of him.  Photographed by French photographer, Laurent Segretier.

I am really glad to see him today and listen his sharing experience on his work and life. Before having a sharing session with students, he did introduce his latest collection S/S 2011. Those shoes he designed are mainly focus on beauty, style and comfort. But when we ask him about is it possible to make a balance within beauty and comfort, he answer it as "Never".  

On his philosophy, he says, " In my creations, i always respect the basic principle, learned from the famous boot maker Andre Perugia, that you carry a garment, but for a shoe is different: the shoe carries you, and all the difficulty is here."

He cares about how the wearer feel and design what they need. People keep asking him about where his inspirations come from, what is your design elements, have you forecast the trend before you start to design the following collection,do you know what people need.....and so on.  He just say he has a feeling on what he should design, and never rely on the trends and market. He aims to design ageless shoes rather than the shoe which is only hot or trendy in a specific period. And i'm quite impressive when he, who has been the top designer over 30 years said " You are not a god, you cannot do everything right or wrong, because you are just a human, all you can do is keep going and never give up." He said " Being a designer,you should require two thing: imagination and taste."  People can teach you how to make a shoe, but they never teach you how to design it. 

“Clothes can be accessorized, but the shoe is essential, and that’s where the challenge lies”

 – Robert Clergerie