Pastoral sheep fields in Portugal and the illumination of Italian Renaissance are woven into the present [Unreal Fields](https://unrealfields.com) collections. Founder and CEO of the company, Inês Lebre, grew up in a small village near the Portugese seaside and instills her homeland throughout the shoe-making process. From the Galaxy Red metallic boot, a perfect marriage between you and a Ziggy Stardust vintage tee to the 90s era creepers, Lebre ensures that the shoes are a beloved affinity for the entirety of her team. Unprecedented times of calamity and devastation have led to challenging situations for the overall fashion industry. Lebre describes the global adjustments as punches in the gut for a small company. Despite the unconceivable, she has not let her boundless creativity waver. Unreal Fields is a blossoming example of transforming a world masked in unknowing into piqued curiosity and tangible ideas. Smitten by the Los Angeles saturated sunshine and the Mediterranean waterfront, Ines wants to illustrate that shoes are a testament to the passions she has acquired.
Courtesy of Unreal Fields
Courtesy of Unreal Fields
**How is Unreal Fields employing creative methods in sustainability when creating a new shoe design? Are there any materials you incorporated in the recent shoes that you were particularly drawn to?**
Inês Lebre: In regards to materials, we mainly use leather. But in one of our latest collections that we debuted at the Fred Segal store, we were exploring new materials. For example, we developed an acrylic heel together with a Portugese factory. The amber in the acrylic heel was a product of experimentation as we had to boil it in water to darken the color. This summer collection we used a picnic adjacent pattern that will be incorporated in a sandal, which will debut at Fred Segal. Our sustainability focus is more in the social part than it is by now with the materials. We use factories that have artisans that have been passionately doing this for years and we produce everything in Portugal.
**Artistic worlds seem to meld together, when you design a certain shoe structure, are there any inspirations you look to in the spaces of design, architecture, art?**
Inês Lebre: In our first collection, we were more inspired by the Italian Renaissance. Everything from Renaissance cultures to paintings to surrealism. That drew the inspiration for the shoe profiles and the statutes. As for the SS20 collection we were inspired by childhood, for example when you were at the farm or by the Mediterranean landscape. We want to illustrate a world back in childhood where there were no worries, you can just be relaxed and in the sun. For the SS20 shoot we used my parent’s farm in a small village, and we released the sheep and donkeys. We were shooting along while the animals were roaming around in the background. We had a little picnic with all the Mediterranean foods and juices as we were shooting all the photographs of the sandals.
**Growing up in Portugal, many European’s fashion sense thrive in simplicity, are there any things in your home country that found themselves sewn in the shoes you make?**
Inês Lebre: So I think the interesting fact related with Portugal is the fact that people know it by the craftsmanship. The typical Portugese is donning dark colors and a little more conventional. We wanted to show that Portugal is not just that. There is coolness and experimentation with different materials. We’re going against the typical norm that is in Portugal. Even though it’s a sunny country in the Meditteranean and all of that, we’re not necessarily playing along the rules of the typical Portugese fashion. I think one of the big reasons why we had such a wide acceptance in LA and New York is because I think people can still feel that it is unique and European, the DNA of it is in the craftsmanship. I think our uniqueness is that we are not doing what everyone else is doing. We are playing with colors and patterns.
**How do you remain creative and hopeful during these times of routine chaos, unknowing, and confusion?**
Inês Lebre: Our response is to be creative and stay positive. For the F/W collection, we wanted to title it ‘Invisible Girl’ because it was our response to the whole chaos that is going on with the coronavirus. It hit at the moment we were about to do the photoshoot and because of all the ensued, instead of hiring models, makeup, everything, we didn’t use any models. We set up all the clothes laid back in a chair and the shoes on the floor and made a photoshoot pretending as if there was a model.
**Why did you feel drawn to present your shoes at the Fred Segal Sunset?**
Inês Lebre: Fred Segal from what I understand is a reference with a lot of fashion in Los Angeles. It’s a very established shop that keeps having really creative pop-ups that show off not only known names but also giving voice to emerging brands like ours. For our brand it offered a place for our LA customers to view our collections in person. For Fred Segal, it’s an opportunity for them to show something that is unique and hard to find in any other shops.
Courtesy of Unreal Fields
* * *
[Unreal Fields is currently sold at Fred Segal Sunset](https://www.fredsegal.com/collections/womens-shoes)
.jpeg)
