Inside Her Closet: Susie Lau

A prominent fixture at the various fashion weeks, Susie Lau is known for her love of  printed and embellished items. Here, she gives us a peek inside her closet, as she shares some of her favorite pieces.

Susie Lau

, Blogger; Freelance Writer. London

"I’m lacking in space in my apartment so Ikea came to the rescue with their STOLMEN system, which basically means you construct your own open closet. I’ve become the unofficial STOLMEN spokesperson because I love it so much. That said, I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve probably outgrown the rails and shelves. Currently, there is no real system of organization other than if I see a smidgen of space, I’ll cram it in there."

Dress, Opening Ceremony x Tron; Shoes, Y-3; Sunglasses, Karen Walker

"People often comment on the sheer oddness of my shoe collection. I don’t seem to own an average pair of pumps or a pair of 'sensible' shoes. I have an addiction to interesting flats at the moment—the stranger, the better. Nicholas Kirkwood does good lace-ups and I’m getting back into my Nikes, something I thought I weaned myself off when I was a teen."

"I’ll admit there are a few pairs here that aren’t really possible for daily wear. There’s an old pair of Basso & Brooke shoes here that are impossibly high but have a really beautiful carved heel. I don’t want to say I collect shoes as 'art'. Shoes are definitely meant to be worn, but I think my tendency to go for statement pieces inevitably means that a few pairs might be left to gather dust on the shelves. They’re for ungrateful future kids and grandkids, who will eventually roll their eyes at all my crap."

"The boots are by a young fashion graduate, who competed in China’s version of Project Runway with a collection inspired by tin toys, and these beaded Timberlands were part of that. These do verge on the wrong side of the ridiculous but I love that they even exist on this planet."

Jacket, Suno; Shoes, Xiao Li

"This dress is one of her earlier pieces and it’s something that I’ve probably over-worn, just because I love it so much. It’s one of those pieces that can be dressy-dressy or casualified."

Dress, Mary Katrantzou; Shoes, J.W. Anderson

Top, Matthew Harding; Shoes, Nicholas Kirkwood x Rodarte

"The oxfords are something I picked up in a Rag Tag in Tokyo—it’s such an awesome designer consignment store. I seem to gravitate towards one-off samples in shoes. Sample sales are my favorite haunt for shoes that never made it to the shop floor. My feet can be anything from a U.K. 4 to 7, depending on the sample."

L to R. Shoes, Manolo Blahnik x Michael Angel, Luella

Shoes, Nicholas Kirkwood x Peter Pilotto; Sunglasses, Karen Walker

Shoes, Nicholas Kirkwood x Erdem

"The satin heels were meant for his S/S '12 show, but in the end, he decided to use the pool sandals that you see on the right. I think it was a good call but I couldn’t resist the pretty satin when I saw them at the sample sale (which is legendary in London)."

All, Christopher Kane

"I love that Lulu Kennedy (who is known as the fashion fairy godmother of London) has started her own label, reviving old designs from ex-Fashion East alumni. The shoes - I’m NOT a designer by any stretch of the imagination but it was definitely a dream to design my fantasy heels. They’re pretty horrific looking to most people but again, I love that I can walk for miles in them whilst being super tall."

L to R. Shoes, Six London x Susie Lau, Nicholas Kirkwood; Dress, Lulu + Co. x Louise Gray

"It was a stroke of genius to combine the air soles of a sneaker with a loafer. I call them loakers. Strangely, everyone from old men to middle-aged women to teenagers ask me about these shoes. Guess they’re after the comfort factor. I struggle to tie a pretty bow with these sandals but I like the excess use of grosgrain ribbon, a material that I can’t get enough of in accessories."

L to R. Shoes, J.W. Anderson, Bruno Frisoni

"These shoes were made for a special POP Magazine pop-up shop in Selfridges when Katie Grand was still helming the magazine."

Clutch, Lulu Guinness; Shoes, Miu Miu x POP

"Versace very cleverly revived their archive prints in anticipation of the H&M collaboration. I’ve got a few vintage Versace print pieces so this revived shirt slots right into that mini-collection."

Skirt, Louise Gray: Shirt, Vintage Versace

"The pink leather cage skirt is by a designer Angie Johnson from a label called I Heart Norwegian Wood (based in Montreal). We met through Etsy, and she’s been a really amazing supporter of the blog."

Skirt, I Heart Norwegian Wood; Visor, Fleet Ilya

thecoveteur.com