Why The Apprentice candidates can't design shoes
Tonight sees candidates from BBC One's The Apprentice "create and market a brand new shoe"(1). We spoke to Susannah Davda, Director of The Shoe Consultant Ltd(2) about whether she thinks this is a good idea, or just an attempt to boost the show's ratings.
Q. Susannah what do you think will be the results of tonight's The Apprentice challenge?
A. If the doughnut challenge is anything to go by, the candidates may struggle to put the desires of their customers first. They need to ask themselves "What do women really want from their footwear"? When I work with start-up shoe brands, their first task is always to gain an in-depth understanding of their target consumer's needs.
Q. What sort of shoes do you think they'll design?
A. I think heels will feature, as this is the category people automatically visualise when they think of women's shoes. They'll either come up with something overdesigned with too much going on, or a derivative product influenced by an existing design.
Q. Is it easy to design shoes?
A. Absolutely not. Really good shoe designers have worked for years at becoming experts at their craft. Shoe constructions are complicated and diverse. Each shoe has a great many components, all of which are essential to wearability and aesthetics. I always advise anyone who wants to be a shoe designer, to study shoemaking first. It's only by making your own shoes that you can begin to understand how to make a good shoe.
Q. So why are there so many celebrity shoe designers?
A. Because they work with amazing designers to bring their ideas to fruition. I imagine the candidates of The Apprentice will also be working with experts too. I'm excited to see if the real craftspeople and designers get any airtime. I hope so!
Q. It sounds as though you're going to have a lot of opinions on the show
A. Yes I think you're right. I'll be live tweeting from @ShoeConsultant (3) using hashtag #apprenticeshoedesign if you'd like to follow the conversation.
Q. Finally, do you think this challenge will boost The Apprentice's ratings?
A. I think so. Almost every woman I speak to gets excited when I tell her I'm a shoe consultant. Women love shoes, and I think they'll be intrigued by the shoe design process.
(1) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bqn8jv
(2) https://shoeconsultant.com/
(3) https://twitter.com/ShoeConsultant
Under embargo until October 31st 2018 00:01 GMT