Kirkwood met his fans in New York last week. At right, Nicholas Kirkwood suede swirl metallic sandals, $1,210 at Nicholas Kirkwood, 807 Washington St. (
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If Carrie Bradshaw was in her 30s and living in New York today, it’s safe to say she’d trade in her classic Manolo Blahniks for the quirky, architectural creations of new shoe man of the moment — Nicholas Kirkwood.
After all, the woman who played her on “Sex and the City,” Sarah Jessica Parker, has become a bona fide devotee of the British designer. She wore teal lace-up platforms by Kirkwood to the “Sex and the City 2” premiere after-party and more recently donned a pair of his gold stilettos to Diane Von Furstenberg’s fashion show in September.
His statement-making stunners are now worn by Hollywood heavyweights like Jennifer Lawrence and Gwyneth Paltrow and style darling Solange Knowles.
“You’ve got your Manolos, you’ve got your Louboutins and you’ve got your Kirkwoods,” says
Sam Broekema, Harper’s Bazaar executive accessories editor. “Stylists are asking for [Kirkwoods] by name for photo shoots in the same breath as these other designers, and that’s a great barometer [of success]. Nicholas has very quickly built a strong visual identity for his collection.”
Unlike the beautifully timeless Manolo stiletto, Kirkwood’s shoes tend to the fantastic — from a swirling, laser-cut leather booty resembling a bridge by Santiago Calatrava to a heel that recalls the swooping curvature of a peacock.
The accompanying price tags — ranging from $635 for a pump to $2,185 for a knee-high boot — are similarly out-there.
“They’re works of art,” says Sasha Charnin Morrison, fashion director for Us Weekly. “He has a huge following [of] A-list celebrities. His shoes are entrance makers and exit makers.”
In November, Kirkwood won the Accessories Designer Award at the British Fashion Awards, took home the BFC/Vogue Fashion Fund Award a month later (a first for an accessories designer) and nabbed the Elle Fashion Award for accessory designer of the year.
And business is booming. Last May, Kirkwood opened up his first-ever American boutique in the Meatpacking District, with a second store in the Wynn Las Vegas slated for July. He recently launched a men’s line, and has collaborated with fashion powerhouses Peter Pilotto, Erdem, Rochas and Rodarte. Sales have shot up by 90 percent over the past year, says Kirkwood’s business partner Christopher Suarez.
“It’s been an interesting few months,” adds Kirkwood, who was in town last week for a 24-hour whirlwind tour. After a luncheon at Bergdorf Goodman hosted by celebrity stylist Leslie Fremar, he dropped into his Washington Street boutique, where a pregnant Alexis Stoudemire, wife of Knicks forward Amar’e, is shopping for shoes to wear to the pair’s second wedding.
“I’m never really satisfied. It’s always a journey to achieve perfection,” says the 32-year-old designer.
It’s that drive that took the grad of London’s Central Saint Martins from a chance meeting with avant garde milliner Philip Treacy when he was just 18 to an apprenticeship in Treacy’s shop.
“I was only going to be there for two weeks, and I ended up there for five years,” says Kirkwood. “Being surrounded by Philip’s hats every day was inspiration enough. It was with that kind of spirit that I wanted to approach shoes.”
Manolo Blahnik, who is also based in London and has made trophy shoes for more than 40 years, was another influence.
“Manolo was and still is the king . . . I absolutely loved his shoes, but I didn’t want to be just another one copying him,” Kirkwood says. “I wanted to come up with a new look and have that be focused around a certain silhouette [that’s] slightly architectural, slightly sculptural.”
Unlike other designers who donate their shoes to celebrities hoping for the kickback of free press, Kirkwood has kept his head down and found success through a more traditional route: the fashion community. (“I hate the idea of giving things to celebrities because I was like, ‘You can afford them.’ ”)
After launching his eponymous line in 2005, he became a favorite of editors and bloggers.
“He came along as the street-style stars were coming up. A Nicholas Kirkwood shoe was a great way to get noticed,” says Broekema.
He’s changing the shoe game in other ways too: In contrast to the 6-inch stilettos popularized by red-sole guru Christian Louboutin, Kirkwood’s most popular seller is — gasp! — a shoe with a mid-height heel.
A $695 black-and-white suede pump with a 2 ¼-inch square heel from his spring 2013 collection has nearly sold out in New York, and Saks and Bergdorf Goodman are already placing reorders.
Of the mid-heel mania, Kirkwood says: “Shoes were getting higher and higher — until all [the models] started falling over. You had to hit that point to see how [high heels] could actually go [before coming] back down. Some of the editors are secretly happy the heel is coming down.”
Despite the adoration of magazine editorials, fashion tastemakers and celebrities, Kirkwood is actually stumped when asked about the biggest compliment anyone has ever paid him.
“I was in two hip-hop songs,” he says with a laugh. “It was awhile ago. It was a Rick Ross and a Foxy Brown song. Kirkwood apparently rhymes with ’hood!’ ”
kfleming@nypost.com
KIRKWOOD’S COMPETITION: BRIAN ATWOOD
As the host of this weekend’s “Saturday Night Live,” Melissa McCarthy hilariously stumbled onto the stage in towering 6-inch, peep-toe platform shoes (right). In doing so, she turned the spotlight on the other “wood” taking Hollywood by storm: Shoe designer Brian Atwood. A high-school pal of McCarthy’s, he designed the comedian’s sparkly “Alesha” shoes, which retail for $895. Formerly of Versace, Atwood launched his own line in 2001, which has since become known for its sky-high stilettos and substantial platforms that ooze sex appeal.
