Having been a tutor at Prescott & Mackay for many years, Chau Har Lee has embraced a new stage in her life as a footwear designer. Her graduate collection at Royal College of Arts is now in Selfridges’ Shoe Galleries, which has 55,000 shoes in stock and 4,000 shoes on display.
The Evening Standard compared Chau to Jimmy Choo, putting her right in the spotlight. This year has already been a very busy one for her: after receiving NEWGEN sponsorship, Chau had her collections to show at London Fashion Week (LFW) in September 2010 as one of the 21 of London’s brightest emerging fashion design talents.
Chau Har Lee in Selfridges Shoe Galleries. Source: Evening Standard
People might have seen quite a few high heels in Chau’s signature sculptural, lasercut design, but we particularly love this flat one (pictured below) that she did for Camper’s workshop.
“This shoe is made up of three interconnecting parts: the uppers, made up of two pattern pieces, moulded to shape and attached to the sole with a few stitches, the opening cut out of the middle becomes the backstrap. The foot bed slots into the sole and moulds to the wearer’s foot providing support for the arch. The sole shape provides protection where the foot has most contact with the ground. All 3 parts can be made of different materials and interchanged as required without the need for adhesives. All the pattern pieces tessellate ensuring minimum waste of materials,” says Chau.
Chau's Natural Shoe in Camper's workshop
Chau’s students at Prescott & Mackay describe her as a down to earth, calm and very hard-working tutor. We all feel proud of Chau and wish her a splendid future on the path of shoe design. If you are ever a student of Chau for shoemaking at Prescott & Mackay, leave your comments and show her your support!
Chau in shoemaking class with student
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Want to get a closer look at her designs? Check the links below:
Chau Down This from Style Bubble
Interview to Chau Har Lee from Prescott & Mackay
I am so happy to hear about Chau’s success! It is well-deserved. She is a great designer and also a wonderful teacher. I learned a lot from her (5-day shoe making course in December 2008). She is such an inspiration! All the best, Chau!
Congrats Chau it’s fantastic to hear of your growing success! I so enjoyed making my ‘Liberty flats’ with your guidance back in Dec ’09 – they are now on show in my living room downunder…! All the best for the future.