Payal Kothari likes to call herself a shoe sculptor, and her bespoke footwear store, a laboratory. It's not a misnomer. That she allows you, the customer, to involve yourself in every stage of the shoe's making means that every pair created is an experiment with equal commitment from the maker and the wearer.

The suede loafers, embroidered boots and kitten heels with nude mesh that she offers, among varied designs, are all made with what's known as the last, a foot-shaped wooden block that acts as a template to determine the shape, fit and comfort of the shoe. Kothari offers the canvas and the wearer fills it with colours. "I'm not creating a need. I'm only catering to it," says Kothari, who is trained at the L'Accademia Riacci, Florence, and has a degree in accessory design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York.