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Winning esteemed awards and a dedicated following, Liam Fahy is hot footing it into the world of fashion with his unique and exquisite shoes. Coming from an infinitely creative and cultural background as well as working alongside such shoe greats as Rupert Sanderson, Fahy’s footwear is all about the craft and each shoe defines luxury. Exclusive to Avenue 32, make sure to snap up and strut, these heels are on the fast track to being fashion favourites. 


1. Who is the fictional character you most identify with? 

Mayor West from Family Guy (voice by Adam West from the 1960's Batman comic series). He's a schizophrenic mayor with a comically surreal perception of everything. 

2. What is your biggest indulgence?

I don't really have any indulgences as I'm a minimalist and I hardly have any possessions. I am however addicted to homemade African peanut butter. Dovi as they call it.

3. What is your signature dish?

Quatro Stagioni

4. Name your favourite place in the world and why…

Benguerra Island, Mozambique. It’s a tropical island with an abandoned 70’s Hotel. A bit like ‘The Life Aquatic (2004)’ with Steve Zissou. It has possibly the best scuba diving in the world because nobody lives there. Except for maybe Steve Zissou!

5. Do you have a favourite thing or a secret about your home town or city?

Harare Zimbabwe is one of the most beautiful cities in the world in my opinion. During the rainy season, it's like a city built in a jungle. Once a year we have the Harare International Festival of the Arts : Performers, actors and musicians come from all over the world to perform for a month – it is great fun!


I also love the Zambezi River that forms Victoria Falls. It stretches for thousands of miles and is mostly untouched and unpopulated. It has the highest population of Rhinoceros and Lions in the whole of Africa, so it is definitely worth the two day drive into the middle of nowhere. I lived there for a while with the locals so I know it quite well.

6. What would be the one item of clothing or accessory that you can’t live without?

I have an old army t-shirt that I’ve had since I was 15. It's more of a sentimental art piece than a piece of clothing. It's so tattered and sun bleached that it would be impossible to replicate in a factory without at least five years of weathering. 

I also have a black leather bracelet that has inspired countless shoes and sandals for just about every design company I’ve ever worked with. It even inspired the "Marianne" heels that look like bundles of liquorice strips but is actually just one single piece of cleverly cut leather. 

7. Is there a piece of art that you dream of owning?

Battersea Power Station. It’s a piece of art to me and I would love to own the whole thing! Or maybe my own derelict oil tanker as I'm fascinated with vehicle wrecks and overgrown derelict structures.

8. Name three people for a dream dinner party scenario…

I don't know! Either a bunch of close friends or myself at three different stages in my life (if I could be surreal) - me at 15, me now and me at about 60; (long hair, less hair and no hair –haha!)

9. If you had a super power for a day what would it be?

To slide instead of walking. Just to stand still and move on demand without moving my legs. I don't know what it would be called though, sliding?

10. What movie do you never tire of seeing?

Stanley Kubrik and Arthur C. Clark's "2001: Space Odyssey". It's an old sci-fi but it has turned into a scientific prediction of how we are going to one day exist, or not exist depending on how you see it. I love the computer 'Hal' that is meant to keep these 70's-looking astronauts sane but eventually turns nasty. I passionately love movies but would recommend this one, or any of Werner Hertzog’s films, like his 1982 Amazon movie "Fitzcarraldo", The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of the Amazon Jungle.

11. Who throughout history would you most like to wear your designs? 

Possibly Grace Kelly or Marlene Dietrich as their sense of aesthetic is not ephemeral or temperamental like many modern celebrities. For me it's not about which famous people wear my shoes, It's all about being confident in anonymity, not what you show but what you conceal, hence why our signature is one of  the most expensive time consuming details on a shoe and not blatantly visible like many other labels’ characteristic signatures.

12.  If you weren’t a fashion designer, what would you be?

I had three passions as an adolescent - modern art, psychology and athletics (track and field). I could have gone either way but chose shoes as I can combine all of my interests into one creative medium. I've designed numerous sport-like trainers and love researching into the psychology of fashion. Most of the collections have some psychological principle behind their design, colour, pattern and inspiration. I've always got a small case study or experiment going on with our shoes.
I think most design is psychological. To rely solely on the visual aspect would be like cutting out 90 per cent of the overall equation. There is a section on our site where we post interesting design quotes and theories, which we encourage people to send in -it's slightly hidden but that’s the point. 

13. What is the most-played song on your iPod? 

I don't have an Ipod, but I do have an old Roberts radio in the studio and leave it on either classic FM or BBC6.

14. Tea or Coffee?

Definitely tea, although when I'm at the factory in Venice, it's coffee.

15. IPhone or Blackberry

I-phone, although I have never bought a phone before! It was given to me by my friend in the Paras out of sympathy when he saw my old phone another hand me down. It's a lot more versatile than a Blackberry and simple! I avoid complication whenever I can.

16. Beach or mountains?

Beach, but It has to be tropical or Mediterranean. 

17. Red or white wine?

Both, although the colour of red wine is quite a recurring theme in the Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collections, I really like it.

18. How do you get around town?

I used to have a Vespa Piaggio, but some fiend stole it. Now I walk everywhere or take a taxi. In Africa it has to be my Land Rover because the roads are so bad and walking anywhere would take years.

19. Sweet or savoury?

Savoury, I don't even like chocolate.

20. Early morning or late night?

For creativity I find the best time to create is after 10pm when the mid-term memory bank is full of images and dormant ideas ready to somehow interact. In the morning the brain behaves in a very different way depending on the amount of sleep, so it depends what I'm doing.