Moe Enomoto, 28, is a women's shoe designer whose Sellenatela brand is carried by exclusive stores in Tokyo's Ginza and Daikanyama districts, and in San Francisco's hip Venus Superstar Boutique. Fascinated by beauty and driven by a desire to empower women of all lifestyles, Moe hopes that her shoes give women the confidence and energy to go far in style and comfort without having to walk in others' footsteps.
Nobody can succeed alone. I design by myself, but to make the actual shoes, I need many people's support. Three or four days a week I work in the factories with craftspeople whose expert advice improves my original idea, but even if we make a masterpiece, unless a store carries it, nobody would even know it existed. Many people are involved with just one pair of shoes, so I don't even feel comfortable calling the finished product my own: It is ours, really.
People want to touch what they like. Humans have an urge to feel the texture of what they find attractive. I see this firsthand in stores, and I know that the best indication of a hit item is how many people hold it in their hands.