by Leonore Dicker

Marilyn Monroe famously once said, “give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world”.

Before Natalia Barbieri –co-founder of luxury shoe label Bionda Castana– began crafting a woman’s best friend in 2007, she worked in finance, a field dominated by men. However, fashion was always her calling, and so she teamed up with her also half-Italian partner, Jennifer Portman, to create sophisticated shoes that enable women to feel powerful and beautiful.

I met up with the Londoner to pick her brain and find out how it felt to walk a mile in her shoes. 


How did Bionda Castana take shape?
Jennifer and I met in 1997 on our first day at University in London while studying business courses. We had always wanted to start our own accessories label. From a very young age we simply loved shoes and handbags, sketching at every given moment, and were struggling to find what we really wanted in the market - so it wasn't a matter of why, it was a matter of when. When both myself and Jennifer resigned from our previous roles to set up Bionda Castana, (I was working in finance and Jennifer in marketing after university) we had had no previous experience in the design or manufacture of shoes, neither did we have a network of contacts in the fashion industry. We really set ourselves up for a tough challenge.

I had an urge to be far more creative than banking would allow me to be. I'd be sketching shoes at any given moment, so I knew it would be my calling. Banking gave me the networking and time-management skills. But it wasn't my passion. We set up this business with nothing more than passion, which is what we are most proud of.

In terms of shoe design we are both self taught. Still, the Milanese factory where we did our apprenticeship in 2006 helped us along this journey and to this day they manufacture our collections. The business was born in 2007 with a very small amount of capital. For our first season we showed a very small capsule collection for Spring/Summer 08 at the WSA show in Las Vegas. We are now stocked in some of the most influential stores in the world namely Net a Porter, Harvey Nichols, Opening Ceremony, Tsum Moscow, Hermione, Shopbop, Intermix to name but a few. Competition doesn’t scare us. It makes us work harder. It was about time women shoe designers came to the forefront of the game.

What’s your favorite pair of Bionda Castana?
The single sole pump ‘Lana’, a classic style that works with everything in your wardrobe. We have made this style in perhaps every single color of the rainbow. It’s our signature.

What’s the trickiest thing about designing shoes?
I think everyone would say the same thing. Making sure that they standout, and that they are commercial and comfortable.

Any tips on how to make sure the shoe fits?
It is a true science and just a lot of testing and ensuring we create enough prototypes so that fit is perfect for the final sample.

You are Italian and Spanish, but were raised in London. How different would you say the Arab fashion style is to the European one?
To be honest not really any more. Due to the internet, tastes have become somewhat universal. We have to adjust certain materials to accommodate warmer weather, but otherwise the collection sold in the region remains rather similar across the board.

We’ve seen the kitty shoes and the “sock-heels”. What do you think will be the next shoe trend?
70s-style platforms are slowly creeping in again, and of course, the sneaker.

According to you, which celebrity has the best “shoe-style”?
I love Rihanna’s shoe game right now.

Is it crucial for a bride to wear white shoes on her wedding day?
Not at all. Not all brides wear white. I think it is rather beautiful for shoes to be completely different to what would be considered ‘traditional’. Also, they then become a shoe you can wear after your big day.

If you could only pack one pair of shoes on your next trip to Dubai, which one would it be?
‘Nicole’ our lace mid-heel. It’s so wearable - it’s the only shoe you need.

You offer a custom made shoe design service on your website. How is the response? What is the craziest request you've received so far?
We have had a huge interest in this service. Custom made has been so appealing for a number of years so we now wanted to open our studio to everybody, not just to a select few. We design the shoes alongside our clients to ensure that they still reflect an essence of the brand, but that they still feel comfortable with their choice. It’s interesting how when you approach a client with a blank canvas, it is actually very difficult for them to decide.