Under the Radar:Eileen Shields's client list reads like the line-up for a top Hollywood party, with names such as Halle Berry, Eva Longoria, Courtney Cox Arquette and Bono to name but a few. And yet, in person, she is much more down to earth than you might imagine and, in her own words, she is just a small Irish girl trying to make her way in the glamorous world of fashion.
The word "trying" sells her somewhat short, however.
At the age of 37, Shields has not only risen up the ranks of one of the world's top clothing labels - she started out as an assistant shoe designer at Donna Karan and left there after 10 years as a board member - but she has got married, had two children and set up her own business.
Not content with that, though, she is now seeking to grow her commercial interests. While there is no doubt that things are going well - sales at Shields's flagship store in Dublin, 5 Scarlet Row, have tripled since it opened in 2004 - she isn't satisfied.
In addition to the 40 high-end boutiques and department stores across the US, Europe and Asia that already stock her shoes, Shields hopes to open her first flagship store in New York by the end of the year. One for London is planned for the middle of 2009 and a men's shoe range is due to be launched in Autumn 2008.
Shields plans to grow the business to 10 times its current size within the next three years.
"I don't have a vision that is global and wants to get to the masses," she says. "But I do want to grow my brand and I want it to represent something special.
"I want to have a product that people adore. I don't want to be avant garde or edgy, I simply want to make the woman look beautiful."
The events of September 11th, 2001, marked a turning point in the life of Shields and her artist partner.
"It made us change everything," she recalls. "We decided to stop everything and start doing what we had always wanted to do."
She married her partner, became pregnant a few months later and at that point realised there was no way she could carry on in the world of the large corporation.
"It was a 200 per cent position where I had to give it my all," she says of her job at Donna Karan, adding that the cliche is true that in New York you live to work rather than work to live.
Shields was born in New York, but grew up in Dublin and graduated from the National College of Art and Design before moving back to New York. She has been there since, although she does spend a lot of time travelling, including to Italy where her shoes are made at the same factory that manufactures shoes for top brands such as Gucci and Miu Miu.
Having got to where she is today - her show earlier this week was one of the most talked about of Dublin Fashion Week - Shields is now trying to focus on the business side of things. She has brought her father on board to help, and is speaking to investors in Dublin and New York.
While Shields is no stranger to the idea of growing a business - during her time at Donna Karan, shoe sales went from nothing to $100 million (€73 million) - she is conscious that she is a designer (who only spends about four days a year designing) and not a business expert.
From next month, her shoes will be available for direct purchase online, a move that she believes will triple sales in its first year. And while this will create a whole new market, it is not as if she is having trouble selling to existing clientele - even at the fairly hefty starting price of €350. "We constantly have people ringing up saying, 'my friend has a pair of so and sos, can you get me some too'," she says.
It seems that this is what Shields's shoes do to people. Eva Longoria is said to be so fond of them that, not only has she worn the shoes in character on the set of Desperate Housewives, but she has even asked Shields to change the heels on one of her designs so that she could wear them off the set too.
With endorsements like that, perhaps growing 10-fold over the next three years is not overly ambitious.
On the record
Age:37
Background:Born in New York but grew up in Dublin. Graduated from the National College of Art and Design in Dublin before moving back to New York, where she attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. Started working as an assistant shoe designer for Donna Karan in 1991 and rose through the ranks to become a director, before leaving to set up her own business in 2001.
Inspired by:Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela. "He exudes quality and if you buy any of his designs, you know it will be quality," says Shields.
Most likes to:Spend time with her family. She takes her two boys, aged five and 18 months, with her everywhere (they were both at her Dublin Fashion Week show earlier this week).
