Julian Louie for Aldo: "They are actually quite versatile shoes, despite the severity of the structure and design."

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The Julian Louie for Aldo collaboration hits stores this spring, and Dazed Digital scored an interview with the designer. Louie's collection for the shoe brand is inspired by Pieter Hugo's book The Hyena & Other Men—a photo collection of men, a girl, hyenas, monkeys, and pythons.

I kept seeing the book in stores for years, but never bought it. When I started thinking about Spring/Summer 2011 I remembered it, and it became the starting point for the whole collection.The mix of textures, colors, and patterns in the Julian Louie for Aldo shoes are inspired by the images in Hugo's book—which, in turn, find their roots in the tradition of using wild animals as entertainment.Collage is hugely important to me, and comes out in my work every season, both physically and conceptually. I had never really played with print on this scale before, and wanted the shoes to really make a strong statement. The prints are fragmented and patchworked but the shape of the shoe itself is very monolithic and graphic, which I think is an important contrast.· Julian Louie x Aldo [Dazed Digital]
· Pieter Hugo: The Hyena & Other Men [Pieter Hugo]