Hooked on classics

Steven Phillip, owner of vintage clothing store Rellik, tells Amy Duff about his collection of Terry de Havilland shoes

The shoe designer Terry de Havilland, famous for his 1970s glam-rock wedges, platforms and rock star friends, is back. The minimalist trend set during the 1980s consigned de Havilland to the fashion graveyard for a time, but he has returned with a new ready-to-wear collection endorsed by Kate Moss. His vintage shoes are also in demand.

And it’s de Havilland’s old designs that set Steven Phillip’s pulse racing. Phillip, co-owner of hip London-based vintage store, Rellik and a de Havilland collector, has been enamoured with the designer for a decade. Once the proud owner of 60 pairs of de Havilland shoes, he now has 34 pairs stored in a specially created space in his home. He cites the 1979 Zebedee as his favourite. “I’ve always been interested in full-on designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Galliano, Zandra Rhodes,” he explains. “When I discovered de Havilland’s shoes I was amazed at the heels, the colours and snakeskin, the craft and the work that had gone into them. They reminded me of [classic New York club] Studio 54. They were off the scale. Not like the bland shoes sold on the high street.”

Phillip was into collecting vintage long before it became de rigueur to combine thrift with designer. He collected 1980s street punk memorabilia as a hobby before it became fashionable again. After success selling vintage clothes at London’s Camden and Portobello Road markets, he opened a shop with two friends to capitalise on the growing trend.

But his shoe collection isn’t about the money, even though the shoes can reach up to £800 a pair at auction. “My shoes are probably worth at least £200 a pair, but I collect them for their craft, not their value,” he says. He reckons de Havilland’s bespoke couture is untouchable—only Azzedine Alaia and Vivienne Westwood come close.

De Havilland himself recently said: “People still love the old stuff. Everything I’ve made, I could sell now.” For the first time in 30 years, his new shoes are in the shops again. Buy a pair now—the odds are, they’ll be a good investment.