To design the next “It Shoe” for Italian footwear brand Alberto Guardiani, in collaboration with British fashion publication i-D Magazine.

Launched during Milan Fashion Week, the Cinderthriller contest set out to find a successor to the brand’s cult Lipstick Heel. Open to designers and shoe lovers worldwide, the competition called for bold, imaginative entries that would redefine the iconic silhouette.

• Create a culturally resonant shoe to rival the Lipstick Heel.

• Blend fantasy and functionality in a commercially viable design.

• Win over a jury of fashion leaders with originality and vision.

• Designed Flutterby: a red suede pump featuring a sculptural, hand-painted butterfly wing heel.

• Grounded the design in a narrative of spontaneity, femininity, and freedom.

• Refined the concept to meet real-world production demands while preserving its poetic impact.

• Flutterby won first place out of 800+ entries from over 50 countries, selected by a jury led by i-D founder Terry Jones and Rubina Guardiani, with fashion luminaries Anna Dello Russo and Georgina Goodman.

• Debuted at 10 Corso Como during Milan Fashion Week and retailed at Colette Paris and other global concept stores.

• Alberto Guardiani has since designed and produced sandal and boot versions of the Flutterby for their seasonal collections.

• Featured in Vogue, i-D Magazine, Financial Times, Vanity Fair Italia, El País Semanal, Corriere della Sera, The Philippine Star, and Surface Asia.

• Exhibited in Shoe Obsession at the Museum at FIT New York alongside Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik, and published in the accompanying book by Yale University Press.