Skins Footwear Collection 2008: GSA Q&A @ WSA with Frank Zambrelli

Always in search of new anagrams to conquer, GSA spent several days - and nights - in Las Vegas last month, attending WSA, the definitive footwear expo. In addition to getting a sneak peak at some spring and fall styles, including the long-awaited next-gen offering from Skins Footwear (it rocks, but you'll see for yourself in mid-April), we got to hang with esteemed designer Frank Zambrelli of Banfi-Zambrelli. The firm is behind the Skins Footwear collections, and while pounding bottled water to rejuvenate after a night of...let's just say gambling, we asked Frank some questions:

GetSkinnedAlive: You're a popular attraction here, and my head is killing me, so I won't take up too much of your time...

Frank Zambrelli: So we work and you play, is that how it works?

GSA: Something like that. Although I think we work and play. But it's hard to do both. Looking around your exhibitor suite, it's easy to see why Skins Footwear would want you designing their collections...

FZ: Thanks.

GSA: When did (Skins Footwear President & CEO) Mark Klein first reach out to you?

FZ: It was about 2 years ago. We were immediately intrigued, because our specialty is designing and developing luxury projects and Skins is much more than that, it's a technology, an innovation. The Bone was light years from its inception but still had a long way to go. Studio Dror had done some really nice work and our assignment was to design around the technology, and create a design structure for the line. We were also involved in the design and campaign aesthetic from a marketing perspective. It was an exciting challenge.

GSA: Was it hard doing a soft launch? There was so much anticipation for the first collection and then the product went back into development...

FZ: As designers, we're always working on the next line even before the first one comes out, and the first line sold well, but we also were prepared for the feedback and next iteration of development. Moving forward is what it's all about - increasing the number of styles, having the identity of the shoe evolve.

Skins Footwear is the single most trialed project we've ever worked on. The Bone, for example, has been through five iterations to get where it is today. And I think we're there on the Bone, I think we've nailed it. What you saw today is what we've been hoping for. All that commitment and effort is tangible - you can see it in the new Skin and Bone and the new collection.

GSA: What are some of your personal favorites from the new collection?

FZ: For men, I love the Damian. This sport Skin goes right to the summit of the concept of Skin and Bones. Incredibly lightweight, this is a shoe with a "wrap" sheet... outsole.  Bad puns aside, the sole has the slimness of a sneaker made for the track or tae kwon do, but with tremendous abrasion resistance, and all the support of the Bone inside.  The Skin itself is a retro running style, with some revised pattern work that makes it feel new, but comfortably familiar.  One of my favorites this season, though I'm probably gonna wear it with a suit.

GSA: And we'll likely follow you down that road... How about for women?

FZ: In the Skins style continuum of Sport to Dress, Joni sits smack dab in the gorgeous center.  Perfectly casual, this hybrid of a wallaby and a desert boot is cut a little higher than your average shoe, without becoming a bootie.  It's especially flattering at a time when most women's casual shoes forget that you're a woman (my apologies if you're in fact, not a woman. Too bad for you).  The suedes are pumiced, so the surface of the Skin is remarkably rich looking, and soft.  This is the everywhere (or maybe "everywear") shoe.

GSA: There's a lot of buzz at the show, not just about the new line, but about the applications of the Skins technology. As a designer, what's your take on that?

FZ: I look at it this way: this technology can be applied to anything that can be wrapped or clad, and anywhere there is an interaction between that product and a human being. Take furniture, for example. The marriage of design, structure, technology and flexibility lends itself to a couch or a chair that is about comfort and fashion working hand in hand.

GSA:

Sounds like the whole process working with Skins is atypical for a footwear line?

FZ: Yes, it's completely atypical. I never had the expectation of this process being "normal", because there is no precedent for something like Skins. This is more engaging than anything we've done before. If you think about it, the shoe industry is pretty archaic, shoes have been made the same way for a long, long time. Until now.

The feeling we all have is that the technology has arrived, so for us as the designers, and for the customers, who in the case of Skins are sharp, bold, and on the edge of fashion and design, the pathway is open...we can all let our imaginations run wild.