Priscila AlexandreAccessories Designer at Kenzo

"If I travel for three days I’ll take five pairs of shoes because it’s the thing I care most about."

[Ed. Note: Priscila Alexandre is the head accessories designer at Kenzo. She was born in Canada and raised in Portugal. Prior to working at Kenzo she worked at Opening Ceremony, Proenza Schouler, and Balenciaga.]

“I work with Humberto Leon and Carol Lim at Kenzo; I oversee all the accessories. I design the show shoes and the show sunglasses. I make sure I have my hands on something rather than overseeing. For me, it’s always about the collaboration, bouncing ideas off each other, brainstorming, saying something silly that turns into a shoe… Humberto and Carol are both very open, extremely intelligent, and fast. I really like to work with both of them. It’s really like a family. Before Kenzo I worked at Proenza Schouler for one and a half years and Balenciaga for two.

I personally love to do colorations. At Kenzo we use a lot of color, but it’s effortless. I think the whole point at Kenzo is that the clothing is something that is cool, cute, and that you can afford. I love working in Paris because I think for inspiration they always want to do better. They are hard on themselves. I’m hard on myself all the time and I question myself all the time. If you think you’re good at what you do at twenty-five, what are you going to do when your good at forty-five? You should always question and always evolve.

Personally, I love to wear accessories and shoes. If I travel for three days I’ll take five pairs of shoes because it’s the thing I care most about, as opposed to clothes. It’s really dependent on my mood. If I feel as though I’m going to have a tough day I just wear all black and high heels. I don’t think too much about it, but of course love I would be silly to say I don’t care." -- Priscila to Shop Ghost

Priscila Alexandre photographed in Chinatown by Stevie Dance.

Photo by Stevie Dance

Priscila’s Two Favorite Pairs of Shoes

Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars

“I remember when I first got my pair of All Stars, I wanted them so badly. It took me so long to get them because I living in of Portugal and you couldn’t them anywhere. I think I was 12 years old and so excited when I finally got them.”
Balenciaga Plastic Fall 2007 Shoes

“I really loved the Lego collection that Balenciaga did. It was the whole level of incredible. We had to go to this factory that was doing prosthetic legs for people because the shoes were made from plastic, and they were the only place we could find to make them.”