Designer
Early in her career, Noel was known to draw the inspiration for her shoes from her architectural background. She 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.”[7] 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.[8][9]
Noel is the sole designer for her label. She regularly travels to Italy,[10] India and Kashmir,[11] 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.[12] She also supports the organic and free trade industries, using eco-friendly materials.[13] Her collections are handcrafted in Milan, Italy, with each style produced in limited editions.[14]
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.[15] The Vanessa Noel label also include bridal shoes, men's footwear, cashmere shawls, and other accessories.[16]
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.[17]
In 2015, Vanessa Noel launched her first handbag collection and her first fragrance named Stiletto in the form of a scented candle.[4][18]
Vanessa Noel's shoes have appeared in Sex And The City,[19] Oprah,[20] the Martha Stewart show,[21] NBC News,[22] music videos for Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson,[23] 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.[7]
Business
In October 1987, Noel simultaneously launched her fashion label and her first boutique on East 66th Street and Madison Avenue,[24] across the street from Imelda Marcos'’ old townhouse.[25] 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.[26]
Noel introduced her couture bridal collection in 1990, which was sold in her own boutique as well as at Bergdorf Goodman[27] and Neiman Marcus.[28] Shortly after the collection's launch, Noel designed a pair of shoes for Mariah Carey's
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,[36][37] 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 food.[38] Noel opened her second hotel, Nantucket's first, and still only as of 2013, boutique hotel, the Vanessa Noel Hotel Green.[39]
The Vanessa Noel Hotel on Nantucket closed in December 2017. The hotel, along with Vanessa Noel Hotel Green, operated from April 2005 to December 2017.
Philanthropy
Hanover Charities
In the years 2005, 2010, 2012, and 2017, Noel chaired the Hanover Charities Sugarcane Ball, a fundraising event that is held annually at Round Hill in Jamaica. In 2017, Vanessa Noel, along with Hanover Charities, helped raise a record amount of $474,360 to assist individuals and institutions in the parish.[40] She also holds a Jamaican-themed fundraising event in her shoe boutique before the Sugarcane Ball to raise money for Hanover Charities.[41][42][43]
Oceana
Noel became an Oceana Council member in 2010 and regularly chairs fundraising events for the organization.[44] Noel also designed a special edition Oceana shoe that was auctioned on
TV appearances
Vanessa Noel has appeared on the following television shows:
- Rachael Ray $40 A Day (February 4, 2005)[51]
- The Martha Stewart Show (Date ? & January 2011[52])
- The Real Housewives of New York (2011, 2015, 2017)[53][54][55]
- Oprah: Where Are They Now? (2016)[56]
Books
Vanessa Noel was featured in the following books:
- Designers On Instagram: #fashion (2015)[59]
- IMPACT: 50 Years of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (2012)[60]
- Silver Girl (2011)[61]
- American Fashion Travel (2011)[13]
- American Fashion Designers at Home (2010)[62]
