LATHBRIDGE

2015 sees Patrick Cox’s long-awaited return to the world of luxury footwear with his new lifestyle brand, Lathbridge.

The Canadian-born designer Patrick Cox is best known for his cutting edge shoes for men and women. He’s been celebrating feet ever since he left London’s Cordwainers College in 1983. First through collaborations with iconic fashion designers such as Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, then with his own label, launched in 1986. He followed that in 1994 with his Wannabe range, a huge commercial success which reshaped the footwear landscape. A year later, Cox had stores in London, Paris, New York and Japan.

In January 2003 Cox was appointed creative director of the iconic shoe brand Charles Jourdan, his brief being to rejuvenate the brand. After two years of successful collaboration, he moved on to focus on the re-development of his own label. Counter-intuitively – something which comes easily to him – Cox made a move from fashion to food with the opening of Soho cake emporium, Cox Cookies & Cake. In 2011 he was appointed design consultant at Geox to create collections for men & women under the Patrick Cox / Geox label.

Cox has helped raise the profile of shoe designers everywhere through the force of his own personality. His humor and flamboyance ensured him notoriety on both the fashion and social scenes, and won him a strong celebrity following. Stars like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and David Beckham have all stepped out in Patrick’s shoes.

He was twice awarded the British Accessories Designer of the Year Award (1994 and 1995) and the Fashion Medal of Honor by the Footwear Association of New York in 1996. His shoes can be found in museum collections worldwide.