Quotes from Patrick Cox

My inspiration for interior design is more historical than traditional.

I love Italy, and that's where I make my own shoes. But the French really do respect designers. Italy is totally different; footwear is an industry. The shoes are all about craft and luxury. French shoes are more about straight lines, and they are way more geometric.

I like to be playful; I want people to look at what I do and smile.

I'm not a shoe snob.

I was never a fashion snob.

Now, I'm older. I don't follow the vagaries of fashion: my look tends to be skinny flat-front trousers with a long-sleeve American Apparel T-shirt and a V-neck cashmere jumper - preferably Loro Piana.

As a designer, you are not only a designer, you are also a celebrity, an entertainer, and a spokesperson that speaks on behalf of the company. So you need to realize that you have to embrace all those sides.

I've learnt a lot about construction and flexibility from my time at Geox.

Wannabe was so huge. So big. So unexpected.

I lived in Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon when I was very young, until my mother divorced my father.

I used to sock hop to 'Crocodile Rock' and stare at those platform boots on the album cover.

I've stayed in enough hotels so I really know what works and what doesn't design-wise.