Giuseppe Zanotti

Every time I work with a star, I learn a lot. Also, I teach a lot because I'm a shoemaker, a designer. I'm born with a pencil in my hand. For old teenagers like me it's good to learn.

When you buy a new pair of heels, walk up and down the stairs 10 times. Stairs are the most difficult thing, so if you can do stairs, then you can do everything else.

Trends are dangerous; you will fail if you design for them. You cannot follow the work of others. I have my own DNA, my own formula. I always stay true to myself and to the brand.

Every season, I absorb everything around m:, the people I see on the street, the discos, the art, the music, and the energy of places from my travels. I mix all of this together, and then I begin to create.

To love shoes is to love problems. Every season, starting a new collection is my greatest challenge. The blank slate in front of me, starting the process all over again, there is no greater challenge.

A woman can slip on a pair of embellished cage heels one night and a pair of streamlined, lightweight sneakers the next day. The beauty of modern luxury is the absence of rules.

Formal is formal. I can't wear sneakers all the time. Sometimes, I wear other shoes. It's not my challenge designing formal - it's so boring - but it's still important. I sell a lot of classic black sneakers made from every material because everyone loves black, and if you mix and match material, you get an opera.

You know, 65-year-olds love sneakers because they make them feel forty.

The sneaker comes from sports, but it's couture now. It's not made in Asia: it's made in my little village in Italy. I can customize everything. I use silk and diamonds and crystals. I think my sneakers have a lot of good vibrations.

Sneakers are a new era. Anyone can feel new with a new pair of shoes. They make you feel contemporary. It's fun because I'm not a young designer, and it opens my brain. Hip-hop isn't just for the U.S. Everyone loves it.

Beyonce has very clear ideas - she knows exactly what she wants. The thing which she then also has over other celebrities is that she has an amazing voice. She's incredibly talented, and she's an amazing dancer - she's complete. Few are like Beyonce.

Hip hop is the strongest form of protest there is, and it doesn't always have to be a violent protest. It can be romantic, also. When you listen to Kanye West's 'Street Lights' for example, there's romance, there's pain - you feel the essence. I get the same thing from Drake and 2 Chainz.

My family owned a gelateria business, so as a kid, I would always design ice cream cones. If you want to transform a shoe from design into a properly wearable product, however, you need technical knowledge. So I worked for four years inside a local shoe company.

At school I was a disaster, but when I would design, I could feel a sense of pride. I've always designed, and I would literally design everything I'd see: cars, bikes, motorcycles - everything.

High heels are like a beauty lift. In a flat, you can feel beautiful, but a stiletto changes your mood, how you move - like a wild, beautiful animal. The idea was always to follow a woman's wardrobe, her desires.

People online will tell you what they really think - there's no diplomacy. They're honest; it's good to have the feedback immediately.

The place where I think social media fails is in showing the knowledge, the tradition of stitching the clothing, of cutting the fabric, of the tannery, of the skinning of the jewels - this knowledge needs respect. Online and social media is the future, but we need to learn from the past, too.

You cannot design shoes if you only think about fashion; it's too realistic. When I design, I dream.

Kanye West is a brilliant poet and artist. He and I work in a very similar way. We feel the vibration, the power of something, and it inspires us to create, whether it is music or design. It is the same process. Working with Kanye is a joy and great privilege. In 2012, we did collaboration together.