“San Francisco is always a bit scary for me,” confessed Vogue stylist and shoe designer Tabitha Simmons who visited the Bay Area to debut the resort ’15 collection of her eponymously named shoe line at Neiman Marcus in Union Square on Tuesday, December 9. “I did my first ever Vogue assignment in this city shooting Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi [for the December 2009 issue], and I remember I got on the plane and was so nervous,” she said. “I kept saying over and over, ‘Don’t blow it. Don’t blow it.'” Simmons admitted that she felt the same sort of nerves again coming to town with her new designs. “It’s like every time I come [to San Francisco] there’s some major turning point in my career!”

Simmons—who typically shows her work inside her Chelsea home in New York that she shares with husband, the photographer Craig McDean, and their two sons—stopped in San Francisco as part of a West Coast tour with the footwear line. Her next stop was Los Angeles before flying on to Italy to work on production of her winter ’15 collection. Simmons said her shoes are crafted in the Veneto region of Italy where artisans create the exquisite details of the intricate footwear designs. “I’m sure I’m not supposed to say this, but I really do have favorites,” joked Simmons eyeing a perforated, open-toe bootie in black calf called the Bonai. “I’ve become sort of sentimental with them,” she said. But for holiday parties, Simmons admitted that her selections are a bit more vibrant. “I love a really fabulous shoe on New Year’s Eve. I have to say I’m a bit of a magpie, so I love sparkle or a lot of detail… it’s got to have something special.”

By Jennifer McCullum

Pictured: Tabitha Simmons
Photo by: Steven Pan

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