Born in Galicia, Spain, Vicente Rey developed an interest in fashion at an early age and made his debut in design as a trainee in Barcelona. At that time he designed costumes for the stage, dance shows and short films. In the scope of his graduation project, Vicente Rey presented for the first time a shoe collection with curved iron.

In Paris he developed his skills in shoe-making with master Aris, who taught him the ins and outs of shoe design. He presented his first collection of shoes in Imagine at Midec in September 1999. By 2001 he won the Escarpin de Cristal New Designer award and in 2002 he exhibited his models in the Fashion to Follow show at the Museé Galliera. Enter 2003 and he was showing at Barcelona’s Fashion Week, of which he won the Footwear Designer award by the National Association for the Fashion Arts that same year.

What I love about Vicente Rey's footwear collection is that it takes on the life that Gilles Montezin recently spoke about in my recent interview with him.

Parisians think of clothes as objects of style that can be worn to enhance their personality and beauty, that will fit with the people they will meet and the places they will go to."

Vicente Rey's shoes are definitely objects of style and I would even consider it breathless art. You'll find shoes from him with rooster feathers, beads, ostrich feathers and curved iron; certainly not wearable or functional, but an object of beauty no less.

If you're in Paris, you can find him at Boutique-Atelier, a store he opened in the trendy Fourth District in Paris. For those of us in the states, stop by his IQONS and MySpace profile to view his gorgeous collection. Prepare to swoon!