Inside Lili Curia, the Vintage-inspired Shoe Brand Making Custom Boots for Suki Waterhouse
Founder Chili Palmer talked to FN about how she draws on three generations of shoemaking as her London label approaches its first anniversary.
本条来自 WWD（Luxury / Fashion），聚焦 luxury、consumer。 Inside Lili Curia, the Vintage-inspired Shoe Brand Making Custom Boots for Suki Waterhouse
Founder Chili Palmer talked to FN about how she draws on three generations of shoemaking as her London label approaches its first anniversary
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Founder Chili Palmer talked to FN about how she draws on three generations of shoemaking as her London label approaches its first anniversary
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Inside Lili Curia, the Vintage-inspired Shoe Brand Making Custom Boots for Suki Waterhouse
Founder Chili Palmer talked to FN about how she draws on three generations of shoemaking as her London label approaches its first anniversary.
Fashion Market Editor
Getting dressed is a little performative, Lili Curia founder and third-generation shoemaker Chili Palmer believes. So where better for her shoes to be worn than the concert stage?
From the “Loveland” tour to Lollapalooza , Suki Waterhouse has repeatedly taken the stage in Victorian-inspired boots from Lili Curia — and she’s far from the only musician or celebrity to have embraced the London -based, vintage-inspired label since its launch less than a year ago.
Growing up in the world of footwear , Palmer always knew she wanted build her own venture in the industry. Her father, Stephen Palmer, followed in his own father’s footsteps, establishing Overland Shoes in 1987. And like her father, Palmer cut her teeth studying footwear design at Arsutoria in Milan. Eventually, the time was right to transform her concepts into Lili Curia. The brand operates independently under the Overland umbrella but benefs from the company’s infrastructure and her father’s expertise on the business side.
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Palmer told FN, “I’d spent a lot of time within my family’s business and I’d spent time designing within other brands’ worlds because they specialize in licensed footwear. So I think that’s what really led me to the idea of creating something entirely our own.”
To give the label its own identity, Palmer needed to establish a brand identity and do some world-building. Enter Lili, “a mysterious alter ego character.” The other half of the brand moniker, Curia, is drawn from the concept of curiosity and curating archival references.
“Lili really came from wanting to create shoes with a lot of character, but that still belonged in a real woman’s wardrobe,” Palmer said. “I’ve always also been fascinated by vintage footwear and how a shoe can completely shift how you feel or who you want to be that day. And I think that idea of different characters and alter egos became quite central to the brand.”
Palmer has a close collaborative relationship with designer Raquel Seguí, who is based in the brand’s Florence studio. The collection ranges from the bestselling Isadora boot worn by Waterhouse to the buckled Babette pump and the Lina knit sandal. The team draws inspiration from a rich collection of archival shoes and references in the studio. While vintage influence is key, the brand’s footwear designs introduce some unexpected twists as well.
“I feel like there’s always a bit of a clash in the Lili Curia world,” Palmer said. “So something romantic against something rebellious, historical reference realized through a modern construction, or having something very feminine with something slightly strange about it, and a lot of the idea comes back to the idea of the theater of the everyday.” Getting dressed can mean embodying a certain version of yourself, and Palmer believes shoes play an important role in that transformation.
Lili Curia launched in September 2025. As the brand’s first anniversary approaches, the label has gained early attention with the help of a strong PR team and an early feature in British Vogue. Palmer added, “At the same time, one of the most rewarding things has been seeing our community grow so organically. I think the right people were attracted to Lili from the beginning, and I think partially that might be down to the fact that we launched the brand world before the product.”
Beyond street-style fans, indie musicians have been particularly drawn to Lili Curia. Like Waterhouse, artists including CMAT, Little Simz and Maria Zardoya of the Marias have embraced the retro lace-up boot aesthetic.
Palmer explained, “I think there’s a natural connection between Lili Curia and performers. I think musicians just understand instinctively how what you wear can bring out a character or amplify a part of yourself. And I think that naturally connects to how we think about the brand.” Comfort is also part of the allure, she emphasized.
Waterhouse was one of the first people to embrace Lili Curia after its launch. She reached for the Isadora again and again, and then the brand made her a custom pink version for her tour. The style was meant to fill a gap in the market as an accessible knee-high leather boot, and for fall 2026, the brand is creating a family around the Isadora with an ankle-height iteration and a sneaker.
Palmer said, “Seeing [Waterhouse] wear them across performances and festivals like Lollapalooza, I just love that that same silhouette can feel completely at home on stage, but also be a boot that people reach for everyday wardrobe. And Suki has such a distinctive personal style, I think that’s what makes it so exciting. It’s not like we’re trying to turn her into a Lili Curia character; she takes the shoes and makes them her own.”
The production of Lili Curia shoes is split between Italy and China, with Italian craftsmen making the leather styles, including outsoles and heels using heritage constructions, while more contemporary designs with advanced technical elements like a molded outsole or sneaker are made in China. For the brand’s limited drops, the team takes a material-led approach, experimenting with deadstock and recycled fabrics.
Palmer said, “There’s something interesting there in the tension between the production in Italy and China that’s really shown in our design language. I think a strong example of that would be our first hero boot, which is the Lilith boot that has that vintage ’60s Roger Vivier-inspired inverted heel, but then it’s made in this interesting modern construction of a molded full outsole, and then we’ve infused it also with that Victorian inspiration. So it exists in that world that could kind of only be made in China.”
What’s next for Lili Curia? Palmer is interested in extending the size range for a selection of “more fluid styles,” making them accessible to people that couldn’t fit the existing sizes and men who have shown interest in the brand. The founder would also like to keep pursuing in-person experiences after a successful Dover Street Market Paris pop-up and also explore U.S. expansion.
Palmer said, “Footwear is absolutely at the center of Lili, and there’s still so much that I want to explore with it. So I can definitely imagine expanding the world over time, but I don’t feel any rush to turn Lili into a lifestyle brand, and I’d rather earn the right to enter another category.”
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本条目归入「Consumer Trends」垂直，涉及真实话题：luxury、consumer。
· 市场：关注 luxury、consumer 对相关品类与竞争格局的潜在影响。
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· 渠道：内容分发与触点组合（社媒 / 电商 / 线下）的协同值得复盘。
· 核心话题：luxury、consumer。
· 可思考：如何把「luxury」的洞察，转化为可衡量的内容与增长动作？
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本条目相关英文术语可在「商务英语」模块按话题检索，用于外企面试表达训练。
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“Lili really came from wanting to create shoes with a lot of character, but that still belonged in a real woman’s wardrobe,” Palmer said. “I’ve always also been fascinated by vinta…