Burak Uyan, shoe designer extraordinaire, hard at work in his Parisian atelier

Our celebration of The Daily Shoe and its one-year anniversary continues with this closer look at another young shoe designer, Burak Uyan. I caught up with Burak at his sunny, all-white atelier in the Marais during the most recent Paris Fashion Week, and had a great time chatting with this talented créateur of Turkish descent and previewing his colorful Spring collection.

Burak’s talent is evident in the wide range of shoes he designs, from flats to mid-heels (good for walking) to towering platforms and stilettos. He also experiments with unusual heel shapes, including cylinders, elegantly-tapered talons and even constructions made of metal rods. I particularly love his sexy high-heeled sandals, and the way he mixes colors and materials (inspiration for his Spring 2012 collection came from the vibrancy of tropical butterflies).

Burak’s inspiration board: silk butterflies on a dress form

A beautiful high-heeled sandal in green-and-black snakeskin

An open-toe pump with a splatter-printed vamp and solid heel

A fabulous wrapped sandal in ribbed, metallic-gold leather

Burak Uyan and Susan

Burak is a sweetheart who’s devoted to his work, which makes it all the more exciting to learn he was chosen by the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (FFANY) to receive this year’s Vivian Infantino Award for Emerging Talent (to be presented later this month at a gala celebration at New York’s Museum of Modern Art). It’s an honor that’s well-deserved!

Photographs by Stephane Israël