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#FASHION: Nelissa Hilman on finding the magic in shoemaking

When Nelissa Hilman started her shoe business 10 years ago, she did it out of love, passion and fun. For the most part, it was like living her childhood dream of creating shoes, from start to finish, but this time, with the resources available to an adult.

But any creative soul in business will tell you that designing is only the tip of the iceberg and doing what he or she loves will eventually turn into doing what he or she needs to do to keep the business afloat.

In Nelissa's case, it's about making shoes that can sell.

"It was initially fun, going into the shoe industry but then it became a business and little by little, it ceased being joyful," says the mother of two over coffee one morning.

"It's always about making what can sell and for some time now, that has not fuelled me the way creativity has before."

So last year, in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown, Nelissa decided to take a break. While making shoes that sell is still high on her list, she wants to try new things — jewellery and ready-to-wear, for a start — not so much to pivot her business and find new market, but to start on a different playing field and hone a different skill set.

Hopefully, these will nourish, once again, the creativity that has brought her success in footwear.

OLD IS NEW

Late last month, the brand launched a 12-piece jewellery collection in collaboration with Wasis Studio.

Influenced by the cycle of the seasons, the collection is inspired by pods with a reinterpretation of shapes. The pieces are made using upcycled copper sheets that were once the store's signboard.

"I want to bring values to the brand, including sustainability and closing the loop. There are a lot of things to consider and to do, but we will take it one step at a time," she says.

She also has an upcoming ready-to-wear capsule collection. They were designed under the tutelage of experienced fashion designer Jonathan Liang, Nelissa's good friend, who, until August, was the creative director of local brand Bonia.

"We used to borrow clothes for our shoots and I thought why not start a small collection of 'things Nelissa would wear' that could go with our footwear. We always style from the bottom up, and so we design clothes that go with our shoes.

"Jonathan taught me new things — fabrics, drape, colours — and in a way, unlearning and learning new information tap into my inner childhood. I need to dig up what makes me happy and relearning things helps me explore this," she says.

MOVING FORWARD

The Covid-19 pandemic two years ago left a lasting impact on many industries, including the country's footwear business. Two of the factories that made shoes for Nelisa Hilman had closed down, severely affecting its supply chain.

"I had thought of closing down the business during the pandemic, to be honest. And in retrospect, one of the best decisions we made was focusing only on one store (in Bangsar Village II) and closing the one in Sunway Pyramid just before Covid-19 happened.

"It would have been disastrous to manage two stores amid physical restrictions," she says.

Even as the pandemic situation improves, supply chains are still affected. "Some factories have closed for good as its owners and staff find new ventures and don't return to shoemaking.

"It doesn't help that making shoe is a long process, taking up to six months to complete," she says.

WHAT SHOES TO WEAR

Nelissa hardly wears black shoes. "It's so predictable. But it's also very sell-able," She advocates nude colours. It matches your skin tone and elongates your legs, she says.

"I hope to teach people to wear other colours. Mustard, brown or the right shade of green are all marvellous footwear hues, if you only give them a chance."

She sources her raw materials from all over the world, but her shoes are made in Malaysia, something she has done from day one. Hence, when small, local shoe factories shut down, her supply is at risk.

"It's getting harder to produce shoes in this country. We don't have that many last makers left. Most are old and their children don't want to learn the trade.

"I give it 20-30 years before we can no longer produce shoes in Malaysia, which is a devastating thought, because we started off with talents but those talents didn't get passed down to the younger generation," she says.

She wants to make boots, but that would require the right last and the right shoemaker. She also would love to design sneakers, admitting that it's a whole new ball game and this will have her venture into another field which she is excited about — material technology. She is, after all, a chemical engineer by qualification.

But for now, she says, with a gleam in her eye, she has found some 200 small shoe factories in Ipoh, Perak, where finding workers isn't an issue.

"Should we move our headquarters to Ipoh?" she asks me hypothetically.

At any given moment, a lot of ideas go through Nelissa Hilman's busy mind, but they all come back to one thing — finding the magic back in making shoes.

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