Kobi Levi, The Shoe Artist
What had been a hobby of Kobi Levi’s became a business in 2010 when the sculptural shoe designer posted pictures of his shoes on a blog page. To his surprise, upon posting the photos he began to receive emails from admirers and hopeful future clients. In 2011 Levi opened a studio and an online shop where his following could finally buy their own pair of Levi’s sculptural shoes. In-the-know fashionistas were not the only ones taken by Levi’s shoes, but celebrities like Lady Gaga and Woopie Goldberg were too. Woopie Goldberg even promoted his shoes on the talkshow The View. But if you thought it could not get any better Kobi's shoes Got MILF-ed $, as over the summer his shoes appeared in Fergie's music video.
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Prior to starting his shoe brand, Kobi studied design in college and graduated in 2001. After graduating he taught technical work (in fashion), and worked at commercial shoe companies. However, at the same time Kobi was designing and making shoes as a hobby. Shoes were then and still are Kobi’s favorite part of fashion design. Why? Kobi explained to me that unlike garments which heavily depend on the body, shoes are not quite as dependent. Most importantly, shoes can be sculptures, they are art that is applied in life, not just art to be seen on display.
Kobi’s shoes are true works of art, and art takes time to produce. Each pair of Kobi’s shoes take about a month to make from start to finish. Kobi does not follow the fashion seasons; he releases new shoes every two to three months, and his shoes do not necessarily coincide with fashion trends. However, this is what makes his shoes timeless. Kobi’s inspiration is limitless, it comes from everywhere.
The materials are essential to the creation of the shoes. The materials must correlate with the design of the shoe. In addition, all of the materials are in the least manufactured form that they can be in. Kobi likes to manipulate the materials in whatever way he can and that means making everything himself, from scratch. Kobi uses lots of leather in different colors, metal, plastic, rubber, and for the most part whatever is durable and will yield good results. Depending on what will be the most practical and durable for each particular design, Kobi makes the wide heels of his shoes out of wood and/or cork. Kobi’s main goals are for the shoes to not be too heavy, but not be too weak, and for the shoes to last a lifetime. So although his shoes do come at a cost, it is a cost well worth it.
It has been five years and Kobi is still one of the best, if not the best, sculptural artists in the shoe industry, and I can guarantee you that you will be amused and enchanted by at least one of his quirky pairs of shoes.