Irregular Choice

Jaynie Ralph

Nov 13 |13:12
Irregular_choice
Photography - Oli Lyons
STEPPING OUT IN BRIGHTON
 
Already the location of their HQ, fabulous footwear company Irregular Choice have opened their first Brighton store!
This cute new shop can be located on Bond Street and inside is a playground of pandemonium prints. 1950s Asian lily pad carpets clash with twinkling sci-fi ceilings on the ground floor and one level above, carousel bunny wallpaper is set against floral mosaic tiling. Flashing Perspex shelves offer new season delights from the well-known brand, including peculiarities like sky-high wedges and pompom sandals. The two-storey building is of miniature dollhouse proportions, akin to something Alice would find at the bottom of the rabbit hole. The store fits in so well with the Brightonian aesthetic you'd be forgiven for thinking it's been here years.
 
BN1's Jaynie Ralph goes underground to discover the soul of Irregular Choice with its Founder and Designer, Danny Sullivan.
 
What's your earliest memory of a pair of shoes?
Sitting on my parents steps at around the age of 4 or 5 years old, and my father telling me that "it was time he taught me how to tie my own shoe laces, as a son of a shoe man needs to know how to tie his own shoes", I remember thinking that shoes must be so great. All of a sudden they were more important than socks, trousers, or anything else. Shoes suddenly had more purpose and more definition.
 
Your shoe designs are so wildly and wonderfully unusual; where do you get your constant creative inspiration from?
There really is inspiration everywhere we look. Fashion has its own way of dictating to us, but how we adopt that is all in the perception of where we want to take things, and how we view ourselves and our surroundings. We can all see the same thing but everyone can see it differently, as we all gravitate to the directions we find interesting which complements our lives. Irregular Choice is all about fun and the wow factor, and I try to put that into shoes, so when I look at something I see how I can incorporate that into my life, which is shoes.
 
If your shoes collections could speak, what would they say?
"I'm sparkling, I'm sparkling, won’t someone take me dancing?"
 
Who do you respect in the fashion industry and why?
Anyone who has kept to their believes and gone about their business the way they set it out in their company’s youth, and kept to the bases of that strategy. All businesses evolve and changes are always needed, as you can never have it correct. But it's keeping the essence of what you are about. And although they are the obvious choices, it is why I respect designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Yogi Yamamoto, Comme De Garcon, etc.. They have not sold out. They have maintained their direction and succeeded in a fickle category for decades. It is not an easy thing to do, to capture each generation for such a long period of time.
 
If you weren't an international, acclaimed shoe designer, what would you be doing as a career?
At this point in my life, I would love to be a house husband, as I miss my kids so much when I am working. But the other area that I would like to get involved with is furniture and lighting design.
 
As a passionate traveler, where is the most incredible place you've visited so far?
I have been extremely fortunate to go to so many amazing places, and seen so many amazing things. When you work in places like Vietnam, China, Cambodia, etc., and you have to be taken to the rural factories in the middle of nowhere, you get to see a different world. Especially 15-20 years ago when I started. But the place I go back to, and every time I get amazed, is Japan. Their culture, their different take on the world and their inspiration to me continually gets me motivated.
 
Are shoes the first thing you notice in someone?
On a man, but unfortunately on a woman it would be their legs! Then the shoes!
If you ruled the world - what are three things you'd change?
You really don't want to get me started on that, as I immediately age decades and become a grumpy old man, and could go on forever at how messed up the world is, and what I would put right.
 
What is the best advice you've ever been given?
My grandad was an old school east-end docker, hard as nails. And he used to drill into me how important it was to work hard in life and put your back into everything you do, no matter what. He always used to use the old saying, "if a job’s worth doing, then it’s worth doing right". Luckily I found a job that is worth doing. You can't make a success of anything in life unless you work extremely hard at it.
 
If you were a pair of shoes - what would they be like?
I lean a little towards believing in star signs. Not something I read as a daily ritual, but the essence of them. And I am a cross between Leo and Cancer. My Leo side is aggressive, proud and strong, whilst being a bit of a peacock - perfect for my job! Where as my Cancer side is home loving, and not shy of a good night in on the sofa curled up in front of the TV with my family. If I had to be a pair of shoes I think I would be the most amazing house slipper come ‘70s disco glitzy number. Some sort of transformer furry house slipper to a glitter glam rock number. If only I could invent something like that!
 
This season Irregular Choice focuses on over the top eclectic fabric combinations in typical Irregular fashion. From thick knits to overwhelming metallic, fuzzy felt to strokeable fur, AW10 covers it all.  There’s cuteness overload throughout with cats, teapots and bunnies hopping all over the collection.
 
Irregular Choice, 38 Bond Street, Brighton, 01273 777 120.   www.irregularchoice.com
 
 
Your Fabulous Style is Brighton's personal styling service run by Style Coach Jaynie Ralph.  For your 90 minute Top-to-Top Style Consultation where you discover your most flattering colours, clothing shapes, style personality as well as accessories contact www.yourfabulousstyle.co.uk 07968 822558.
 
Â