Ten Minutes with Souraya Karami

Souraya Karami is an architect—an architect that architects shoes. Her London-based company, Esska is on the brink of taking the American market by storm. She is inspired by the streets and buildings of London and translates this into the rounded toes and rubber heels of her shoes. Souraya believes in inner beauty and the concept of feeling good. Now that’s something we all can believe in.

Oligoville: What is your product and what are your price points?

Karami: I design urban shoes. The prices of my shoes range from $130 to $180 and the boots are from $200 to $240.

Oligoville: Describe your target customer.

Karami: She’s an urban woman who walks everywhere. She’s self-confident and craves comfort and beauty. She is not a fashion victim, and lives to create her own style.

Oligoville: When and how was your brand born?

Karami: I had the idea to start my own shoe brand a long time ago. My friends and I were constantly struggling to find shoes we liked. All the shoes we found were overly designed, overly feminine, or overly masculine. We needed shoes that we could wear during the day and throughout the night. The idea stayed in my mind for a long time. I finally decided to shift careers and study shoe design. I graduated in June 2005 from Cordwainers in London, and started my business a year later.

Oligoville: What inspires your designs?

Karami: I am an architect. I studied, graduated, and worked in architecture for several years. Clearly, it influenced my designs. I love lines, whether they are straight and parallel (straps, which I use a lot) or curved and fluid. They are always represented in the patterns of the shoe.

I get inspired from everything around me—buildings, crossings, streets, maps, everything …

My designs are bold and clean. I don’t use embellishments. It is the pattern and use of materials that makes the design. I love mixing materials.

Oligoville: How have your designs evolved since you started your company?

Karami: I experiment more now. I think my style is still the same, but I like to experiment more with different materials, shapes, heels, and fastenings. Plus I know what sells, so I try to make a balance between what is a good seller, and what is a window piece—it works.

Oligoville: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Karami: Being able to finally wear shoes that I like. Seeing my friends wearing them (and they are hard to please!) and raving about them … Surely I am very proud and happy I managed to get where I am in two years, but the best feeling is wearing my shoes.

Oligoville: Tell us about some unexpected set backs you have faced since starting your business and what you have learned from that.

Karami: Production delays. I could not control it, and it affected my delivery date to my clients. I learned that it is does not always go as planned, but you work around it and make the best out of it.

Oligoville: What advice do you have for other aspiring designers out there?

Karami: You can do it. You have to be determined and committed. Plan properly—it is not only design, it’s business.

Oligoville: Name three things you cant live without?

Karami: My laptop, a good cup of coffee (most probably made by my husband or myself), and a bed.

Oligoville: The fashion police would give you a ticket for …

Karami: Wearing my husband’s jumper! (Right now!)

Oligoville:What is your favorite music genre?

Karami: Trip hop, Rock, Hip Hop.

Oligoville: Where do you like to shop?

Karami: Independent boutiques.

Oligoville: You would love a one-way airline ticket to …

Karami: Hmmm … I am quite happy where I am but I would not mind a round-trip ticket to the Seychelles.

Oligoville: Who is your favorite style icon?

Karami: I am not sure, probably Kate Moss.

Oligoville: If you were not a designer, what would you be?

Karami: A writer.

Oligoville: If Hollywood made a movie about you, who would play you?

Karami: Miranda July.

Oligoville: Tell us about any exciting current events regarding your brand.

Karami: My Spring/Summer 2009 collection is looking great! I am expanding slowly in the US. Anthropology has placed an order for their Web site as well as boutiques in NY, Denver, Atlanta, Seattle, and Portland. I am very excited. I sense that Esska will do great in the US!

Souraya’s designs speak to my soul. They are timeless yet hip and sophisticated yet urban. Most of all, her shoes are comfortable. I can wear them all day in the office, all night on the dance floor, and all the way home the next morning. Her homepage says, “I love owning shoes, even if I don’t wear them all.” (Amen sister—amen.) I’d love to own all of Esska’s shoes, but the difference with me is I would wear them all.