STYLE CRÉATRICE A walk with Paula SHE’S THE DESIGNER OF THOSE MARVELOUS JOHN LOBB BOOTS. WE MET AT HER HOME IN LONDON… Paula Gerbase was born in Brazil to a German mother and an Italian father. Educated in the U.S., Switzerland and the U.K., she has travel in her veins. But her home now is London, where she has been based since completing her studies at Central Saint Martins. In 2010, she left a job on Savile Row and, with the help of her boyfriend, launched her ready- to-wear label 1205. “We started in an apartment in Soho, but it quickly became too small,” she recounts. “When we found this house in Blooms- bury, everything was painted red and there were net curtains everywhere. We pulled things apart, repainted, and set up the studio downstairs.” Since then they have moved the studio to another space a short walk away. The house, now entirely private, reflects her personality: low-key, with a creative aura influenced by nature and hand craftsmanship. The atmosphere is perfectly in step with the esthetic of the British boot- maker John Lobb, whose first store opened on Regent Street in 1866. When she was asked to take over as creative director in 2014, Paula set out to learn everything she could about footwear. “With John Lobb, the archives are so extensive, it’s really about picking things that are relevant to introduce back in the collection,”she says. “I launched the women’s line after discovering a box of wooden lasts. They were developed in 1999 as models for women but never marketed.” The label’s key values: “Modernity and unparalleled quality. They have incredible artisans, which is what makes things sustainable. I really think about whether my work will stand the test of time.” And her points in common with the brand don’t stop there: “Thearchives are full of hiking boots. I started testing my versions in Cornwall, where Mr. Lobb was born, with its beautiful coastline. But I wear hiking boots in London too—I just live in them.” Giving her a stride in advance toward her next adventure. JOHN LOBB, johnlobb.com AIR FRANCE MADAME / 131