Stella Luna appoints first creative director

Chinese footwear brand Stella Luna has hired its first creative director in their ten year history. Former fashion and market editor for French Vogue, Capucine Safyurtlu, is now in charge of helping the brand become a global fashion power.

The brand recently opened two shops in Paris and a corner at Galeries Lafayette, but they have found they haven't reached the level of awareness they were hoping for. Safyurtlu has already began working on changing that. The newly minted designer began by introducing a graphic buckle and a V-shaped vamp as the label's new signature. She then proceeded to redesign all the labels heels and shapes at the firm's own studio near Venice, Italy.

The new fall styles will include kitten-heeled ankle boots, flat cuissardes, animal print slippers, and Parisian stilettos just to name a few. The new V-cut will be adding a more feminine touch to the designs.

Prices for the collection range from 255 dollars to 890 dollars, although the label has a forthcoming wedding and cocktails collection where the prices might be positioned higher. The brand plans to do six collections a year, because they believe it is the best thing to keep customers coming back.

Stella Luna is part of Stella International Holdings Ltd., whose primary business is contract manufacturing. Their client list includes a wide range from brands from Timberland to Prada.

In 2015, the group posted sales of 1.7 billion dollars, which was primarily driven by the sale of sports shoes, with retail representing about 5 percent.

The label currently has a total of 205 doors, 175 of which are located in China. The majority of the units are department stores, while 35 are freestanding, excluding the brand's three Parisian locations.

In March, Stella Luna plans on relaunching their website, which will merge their Asian and European operations into a singular global e-commerce platform. Safyurtlu's first full-scale effort for the brand with be to present the collection at Paris Fashion Week in March before the collection arrives in stores in July.

In regards to the selection of Safyurtlu as creative director, Stephen Chi, founder and chief executive officer of Stella Luna told WWD “Capucine and I have known each other for a while. She joined the brand a few months ago — initially as a consultant, but it quickly became evident that she could offer the brand much more."