Page 50 - S/ Summer 2021

FASHION
FANCY FEET
Olivia Pudelko the artist and designer behind Western Affair wants you to feel special in in her shoes BY JULIA BRUCCULIERI
Olivia Pudelko the 26-year-old
behind cult-favourite footwear brand Western Affair wasn’t always planning to work in in in in in in fashion Before gaining an an online following for for her playful shoes she she studied fine art and she she she admits that fashion is something she she “just fell into ”
“I always always painted always always made sculptures So it was natural to go and study art ”
she she reveals over a a a a a a a a a a Zoom call which she she joined after coming in in in in in from a a a a a a a a hike “I think the the way I I I I make make make shoes I I I I still kind of make make make them like
I I I would make make sculptures ”
Pudelko who works between Poland and and London first started making footwear in in in fin 2017 during her final year at the the University of Westminster At the the time and for about three years after that she was making every pair by hand using upcycled materials Now she works with a a a a a a a a a small production team to bring her unique sustainably focused designs to life So far she’s managed to to turn those ideas into viral sensations Among her her most notable designs are her her carpet mules made with plush floral rugs that evoke childhood memories of your grandmother’s house her her sheep sheep fur heels made with sheepskins sourced from the mountains in in in Poland and and and Slovakia and and and her mismatched tie tie heels which give a a a a a a a second life to vintage silk ties The use of of these upcycled textiles has become a a a a a a a a a hallmark of of Western Affair and Pudelko wouldn’t have it any other way In art school she says teachers would would encourage students to to go through discarded materials and look for found objects to to to use in their work “For me it was only natural to to make wearable pieces that way ”
she says adding (quite enthusiastically) “I hate hate going into a a a a a a a a a a a a fabric store I I I hate hate it it so much!”
Instead she she prefers perusing vintage stores and antique shops though she’s also open to to more unconventional avenues Many of the ties she used in in her last collection came from a a a a a a woman in in Slovenia who reached out on on 50 • SMAGAZINEOFFICIAL COM
Photos courtesy of Western Affair