Fashion Entrepreneur Report – Delivering the business of fashion from Nolcha: Fashion Busi: Interview | Sarah Toner: The Genius Behind Surviving 5 inch Heels

As a former ballerina, model and dance instructor, Sarah Toner has made a living off of her feet. With the desire to pass her knowledge of how to walk in high heels without killing yourself, she developed a popular class in London where women of all walks of life can come to better their posture, self esteem and aching toes all for the love of stilettos.

With a new book launching in August 2009, Nolcha sat down with Ms. Toner in an exclusive interview to find out what we slaves of fashion can do to improve our health and happiness all while looking gorgeous.

Lynn Furge: I took ballet for 6 years and one thing my instructors always stressed was "NEVER WEAR HIGH HEELS" but then I became a grown-up and couldn't heed such advice due to beauties like Jimmy Choo, Lanvin and YSL. How to you reconcile fashion vs.…Comfort?

Sarah Toner: I think it is very funny that our ballet instructors tell us not to wear heels and then have us cram our poor toes in to hard satin ‘toe shoes’ which give us blisters, bunions and claw toes equal, if not worse than those caused by wearing high heels!!

I apply the same philosophy to wearing high heels as I would to most other things in life! Everything in moderation… except laughter! If you over eat you will eventually become fat! If you don’t exercise and over do the alcohol/drugs/smoking your body will eventually fail you.
If you wear heels all the time, but don’t look after your feet and posture, you will eventually develop foot, knee and back problems.

Be strong in your body, buy exceptionally well made shoes and pamper your feet!!!

LF: There are city girls in heels and then there is the woman who wears heels to go to dinner or the theatre in heels. What advice do you have for those soldiers who wear heels through the city on a daily basis?

ST: Give yourself a regular foot massage to ease tension in the feet. Exercise your feet and legs to counterbalance the affects of wearing heels and to keep the feet and ankles strong. The exercises can be done in a few minutes but will really make a difference to the condition of your muscles. Your calf muscles shorten when you wear high heels so stretch them out after wearing them! Do NYC women still wear sneakers to work?! Perhaps a challenge for a young designer could be to come up with a new design of ‘sneakers’ for travelling to and from work!

LF: Please explain a little bit about your exercises...

ST: First without the heels on, I teach a basic foot massage followed by ankle, feet and leg strengthening exercise. Next some exercises for core stability.

Then with the heels on, I work my way up the body correcting the foot position, relaxing the knees and hips and then some upper body exercises to improve the posture. Finally I teach the women one or two relaxation techniques.

LF: Which brand of shoes do you personally like the best?

ST: Betsey Johnson! They are fun and feminine. I love the faces on the soles, and the gold bows,

I love the shoe boxes… plus, the shoes are comfortable! Apart from Betsey, any designer who can resist the ‘trends’ and put in to his or her collection a classic, black, sublimely elegant, beautifully crafted, stiletto heeled shoe gets my vote!!

LF: You have the ears of several young designers... what do you want to see come out of footwear designers for the future in terms of both design and comfort?

ST: I recently sent a client of mine back to the store to return the shoes she had bought for a wedding. The balance of the shoe was dreadful, and whilst one never wants to blame ones tools… no one would have been able to walk elegantly in those monsters!
So to young designers I would say:

1. When designing a shoe, imagine that you are creating something that is going to be a permanent extension of a woman’s leg. Think of weight distribution and place the heel of the shoe in the centre of the woman’s heel so that her balance will be perfect! Imagine that you want a woman to feel that her foot is being massaged as she walks, so consider the inside of the shoe as much as the outside.

2. Think of women first and study feet! Then design your shoe to enhance women and not the other way around! You want people to develop a life long relationship with you and your brand. Pay special attention to the comfort of the ball of the foot… a well padded sole is everything! I think, when a woman tries on a pair of shoes, she should feel as if the designer absolutely adores women… and feet!

3. Be creative with your designs but remember that there is always room for a classic as well.

LF: With a history in the modelling industry, what do you want to tell young designers when coordinating their footwear and runway collections as lately we are seeing more and more spills on the runway?

ST: My advice is this…Always leave them wanting more!!!

What is the point of trying to design the wackiest shoes, only for them to be remembered because the model couldn’t control them, hurt her self in them, or fell flat on her face!!

Hint at your ‘genius’ by clever accessories or colour choices (think of the soles of Betsey Johnson’s shoes) but tantalise your audience, rather than beg for attention.

Design something that gives the model confidence so that she carries the clothes and shoes off to perfection! Which leads me to… this!

Send the models to a class (with me!) before they even hit the runway! Many of the girls walk so badly that I think they would have a problem walking in any shoe. With a little coaching, half the battle would be solved.

LF: What is next on your horizon? Would you ever consider collaborating with a designer on your own line of heels?

ST: Well, my next book takes a look at how to be, and feel, fabulous in your underwear! And Ivana Nohel has designed small but sublime range of underwear which will be launched with the book.

I would love to love to LOVE to collaborate with a designer and launch my own line of heels, it would be heaven! In particular; classic stilettos and high heeled boots, I have an entire collection of shoes and boots in my head already designed, I just can’t translate them on to paper!

To accompany my line of shoes, I would love to collaborate with a designer and create the ultimate collection of ‘Little Black Dresses’ classic, smooth, sexy, elegant… I could go on and on!