Vanessa Noel (born October 12, 1961) is an American shoe designer, hotelier, gallery owner, and philanthropist.
Biography
Vanessa Noel was born and raised in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. She was presented at the Philadelphia Charity Ball in Philadelphia, PA, and the International Debutante Ball in New York, NY.
She attended Cornell University in New York, where she graduated with a degree in Fine Arts and Architecture. After graduation, she launched her first shoe line in 1987.
In 2015, Vanessa Noel spoke at the Women in the World Annual Summit along with Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Ashton, and Dr. Holly Anderson to discuss heart disease and the gender bias in medicine.
As of 2019 Noel served on the board of Hanover Charities.
Career
Designer
Early in her career, Noel was known to draw the inspiration for her shoes from her architectural background, and has said, “I view my shoes as sensual art objects. I create them to be both an individual sculpture and a natural, elegant extension of a woman’s leg.” Her shoes are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA.
Noel is the sole designer for her label. She regularly travels to Italy, India and Kashmir. to work with various artisans. The shoes she produces use products only from Italian tanneries. These tanneries create exotic skins and furs such as sable, python, and alligator. She also supports the organic and free trade industries, using eco-friendly materials. Her collections are all handcrafted in Milan, Italy, with each style produced in limited editions.
In 1988, she designed a pair of satin pumps encrusted with 177.85 carats of rubies, which she sold in her store for $15,000. The Vanessa Noel label also encompasses bridal shoes, men's footwear, cashmere shawls, and other accessories.
In 2004, Noel debuted the stretch alligator boots that became her signature. The boots appeared on Kim Cattrall in the Sex and the City movie in 2008.
In 2015, Vanessa Noel launched her first handbag collection and her first fragrance named Stiletto in the form of a scented candle.
Vanessa Noel's shoes have appeared in Sex And The City the movie, Oprah, the Martha Stewart show, NBC News, music videos for Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson, and many fashion magazines. Her footwear products have also been used in the runway shows of Nicole Miller, Rebecca Moses, Chadwick Bell, Keith Lissner, Ralph Lauren and Ralph Rucci's shows in both Paris and New York.
Business
In October 1987, Noel simultaneously launched her fashion label and her first boutique on East 66th Street and Madison Avenue, across the street from Imelda Marcos'’ old townhouse. Her label was an immediate success and in 1990 she was asked to join the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) with recommendation letters written by Carolina Herrera, Carolyn Roehm and the CFDA director at the time Fern Mallis.
Noel introduced her couture bridal collection in 1990, which was sold in her own boutique as well as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. Shortly after the collection's launch, Noel designed a pair of shoes for Mariah Carey's wedding to Tommy Mottola in 1993. Noel's bridal collection was extremely well-received, and Vera Wang asked Noel to do her first collection of bridal shoes as well.
In 1994 Noel opened her second boutique in Nantucket, Massachusetts where she spend childhood summers, and her boutique was the first New York boutique to open a location on Nantucket Island.
In 1998 Noel designed a collection for C.Z. Guest, inspired by Guest's love of gardening. The limited-edition CZ by Vanessa Noel collection was sold at Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus stores.
Noel opened her flagship boutique on East 64th Street in October 2004. She designed the nearly 2,000 square foot space herself.
Vanessa Noel Hotel
In the summer of 2002 Noel became the first American designer to own her own hotel with the launch of the Vanessa Noel Hotel. Also, the first boutique hotel in Nantucket, the VNH is home to a Vanessa Noel shoe boutique and the Café V bar, where Noel titled the menu “How to Look Good in Your Shoes” and offered high-end wellness food.
Vanessa Noel Hotel Green
Noel opened her second hotel, Nantucket's first, and still only as of 2013, environmentally conscious organic boutique hotel, the Vanessa Noel Hotel Green. The Hotel Green uses organic linen bedding, recycled Frank Gehry-designed cardboard chairs and coffee tables, hemp bath linens, Anna Sova milk paint, eco-friendly cleaning products and ayurvedic bath products.