As the Belle Vivier shoe celebrates its 55th anniversary, Jeffrey Yan chats with Gherardo Felloni, Creative Director of Roger Vivier, about taking the heritage brand into a new age.

Behind the operatic voice, the coiffed moustache and the larger-than-life personality lies a man who is transforming a storied French House, one kitten heel at a time.

It’s hard to ignore Gherardo Felloni, the moustachioed, opera-trained, antique jewellery-loving Italian who’s behind some of the most playful shoes to have enraptured the street-style set (remember Miu Miu’s pearl-studded furry slides?).

M-sized, embroidered canvas Baguette, $9,600. All Baguettes have a card slot.

12 years at the helm of Roger Vivier and thousands of shoe designs later, Creative Director Bruno Frisoni continues to pave the way forward for the Maison.