Every girl loves shoes. But Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg are two girls who now know exactly what goes into making fabulous footwear.
The two actresses recently swapped roles for soles by becoming two of the neophyte shoemakers who contributed to Stuart Weitzman’s Young Hollywood Cares collection, a quartet of sexy shoes that will debut in Weitzman stores on Sept. 8. They are in good company: A-list actress Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Palermo — the fashion plate other women loved to hate on “The City” — each came up with a shoe, too.
“My inspiration was the classic vintage pinup girl from the ’50s,” says Trachtenberg of the super-high snakeskin pump ($425) she imagined in between filming the latest episodes of “Gossip Girl.”
“In every sexy work of art from that era of photography, the women always had a killer heel and sexy lingerie. I wanted the shoes to evoke that intrigue.”
The 25-year-old found the process “surprisingly quick. A few months later, it was in my hand! It was awesome. It was kind of effortless really.”
Her fellow designer Panettiere dreamed up her rock ‘n’ roll, black suede platform bootie ($498) in similarly quick time.
“I had a clear vision; I just thought about what I love to wear,” explains the petite blonde, 22.
Both gals have a distinctive personal style — Panettiere favors flirty, colorful dresses, while Trachtenberg’s aesthetic is a little more bohemian — and firm views about fashion. Trachtenberg, who has dabbled in designing accessories, too, admits that the fabulous costume department on “Gossip Girl,” the show on which she’s played the character of Georgina Sparks since 2008, has helped her become more fashion-forward.
“Georgina and I have a similar style; she just tends to wear more leather!” Trachtenberg says. “But Eric Daman, our costume designer, has definitely encouraged me to take more risks and wear less flats.”
Both women admit that, like most ladies, they have more shoes than they care to count — or admit — sitting in their closest (their special designs are a worthy addition: 100 percent of the money earned from the collection will go to ovarian cancer research). So, when it came to coming up with a shoe design other women would want to wear, neither of the native New Yorkers had any trouble.
“Mine has a feminine silhouette, but it also has that edgy, solid vibe. It’s very chic,” says Panettiere, who recommends wearing her booties with leggings or a dress.
“I believe accessories make the outfit,” adds Trachtenberg. “I tend to gravitate toward a lot of black in my wardrobe, and a shoe gives you the opportunity to add a pop of color or a bit of edge. I’ve already worn my shoes with pants and with girly dresses. I might be biased, but I think they go with everything!”
Both actors will be at Stuart Weitzman’s Madison Avenue store on FNO. Then it’s back to their day jobs. Panettiere has just filmed “Downers Grove,” a thriller. Trachtenberg is appearing on “Weeds” — “I love playing a bad-ass drug dealer,” she says — and recently completed a movie called “Sexy Evil Genius.”
And will there be some more fashion designing in their future?
“Not just yet,” says Panettiere. “But it was certainly fun!”