Bandra resident Serene Gandhi designs fashion forward shows

Bandra-resident Serene Gandhi designs shoes that speak volumes about the owners' style quotient and discernment. The creative mind behind Cara Pyramids, Gandhi has been helping women get perfectly designed shoes to match their taste and style. The emphasis here is on quality—add to it great durability and style. "My customised range is especially for women with unconventional foot sizes and needs," says the avant-garde shoe designer, "I also have a basic range for women who do not need customisation."

According to Gandhi, who got into shoe designing in 2012, the process of acquiring custom-made shoes is simple—choose your style, select the material, decide your heel type (stilettos, square, wedge and more) and toe style, and add decorations. Gandhi explains, "There are plenty of technicalities involved in shoe designing and the customers do not necessarily get all of them right. So, very often we need to take measurements and give them style and heel options."

Having bespoke shoes, however, can burn a hole in your pocket. The designer points out, "For customisation, we need to build a last (a shoemaker's model for shaping a shoe or boot). This hikes up the cost of making a pair of customised shoes."

Gandhi, whose shoes have found patronage amongst fashion-forward designers like Nachiket Barve, Surily Goel, Falguni and Shane Peacock to name a few, is of the opinion that there are people in the city who would love to go for customised shoes, but very few are willing to pay the price. "Shoes are really personal, we cannot generalise them with designs as each one of us has an individual foot shape and size. My shoes are tailor-made with refined handmade craftsmanship, which give customers a hi-end fashion experience and reflect their personal taste."

Serene's style guide
1. Don't just blindly follow a trend
2. Shoes can transform your body language
3. There are shoes for every mood, so pick your shoes to match your mood
4. Find your own ground