THE FOOTWEAR FASCINATION BEGAN THAT ONE SPECIAL DAY WHEN LANA’S MOTHER DECIDED TO SHOW HER A SPECIAL SECTION OF HER WARDROBE CONTAINING HER ENCHANTING COLLECTION OF ITALIAN MADE SHOES. HER MOTHER HAD COLLECTED THE BEAUTIFULLY CRAFTED SMALL SIZED 36 HEEL’S DURING HER TIME LIVING IN ITALY BEFORE IMMIGRATING TO AUSTRALIA. EVER SINCE THAT DAY SHOES HAD INSPIRED AN INCREDIBLE FORCE AND CARRIED A STRONG SENTIMENTAL VALUE TO LANA.
GROWING UP LANA WOULD ENDLESSLY DRAW SHOES USING ANYTHING THAT WAS AVAILABLE – PAPER, CANVAS, NAPKINS, PENCILS, PAINT… SHE COLLECTED EVERY PAIR SHE EVER OWNED, SECRETLY ‘STEALING’ HER MOTHER’S AS WELL! SOME SHE WOULD CUT INTO PARTS AND RE-DESIGN THEM IN ORDER TO DEVELOP HER OWN INDIVIDUAL STYLE. HER HOME SLOWLY TRANSFORMED INTO A SHOE WORKSHOP. AS THE YEARS PASSED, LANA CONTINUED TO BE MAGNETISED BY SHOES THAT WERE DISTINCTIVE, BEAUTIFULLY MADE AND BOLD: REPRESENTATIVE OF HER OWN PERSONAL CHARACTER. HER OBSESSION AND DESIRE TO IMMERSE HERSELF IN THE FOOTWEAR WORLD WOULD BECOME HER DESTINY…
AFTER FINISHING HIGH SCHOOL, LANA STUDIED AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGN DEGREE, WHERE SHE EXTENDED HER KNOWLEDGE OF MIXED MATERIALS, AS WELL AS WIDENING HER HORIZONS OF THE VARIETY OF INNOVATIVE TRENDS IN THE FIELD OF DESIGN. LANA LATER ATTENDED RMIT UNIVERSITY AND STUDIED CUSTOM-MADE FOOTWEAR AND DESIGN, WHERE SHE WAS TRAINED TO HAND-MAKE BESPOKE SHOES.
LANA’S FASHION VENTURE HAD NOW EVOLVED GREATLY FROM HER INITIAL PRACTISE AS A MADE-TO-ORDER FOOTWEAR DESIGNER, IN HER PERSONAL ATELIER, AT HOME. IN THE MANNER OF A COUTURIER, SHE BEGAN DESIGNING AND HAND-MAKING EXTRAVAGANT ONE-OF-A-KIND FOOTWEAR FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS. HOWEVER, HER AMBITIONS OVERFLOWED: SHE FANTASISED ABOUT CREATING AN INTERNATIONAL LUXURY ITALIAN MADE SHOE BRAND.
TRUE TO FORM, LANA’S ASPIRATION DID NOT REMAIN A MERE NOTION: SHE QUICKLY TURNED HER DREAM INTO A REALITY. SHE TRAVELLED GLOBALLY TO SOURCE MATERIALS AND WORK ALONGSIDE SKILLED CRAFTSPEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA, ASIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST, GAINING INVALUABLE EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING IN THE SHOE AND LEATHER-MAKING TRADE. SHE JOURNEYED, SHE OBSERVED, SHE FELL AND PICKED HERSELF UP, SHE WORKED DETERMINEDLY TO MAKE HER VISION COME TRUE. THROUGH YEARS OF WORKING IN FASHION AND FOOTWEAR, LANA DEVELOPED AN IN-DEPTH PROFICIENCY OF NUMEROUS TECHNIQUES IN SHOE PRODUCTION. THIS FUELLED HER PROFESSIONAL WANDERLUST, CHASING HER CURIOSITY OVERSEAS… FOLLOWING HER HEART, SHE HAD THE GOOD FORTUNE TO LAND IN ITALY, WHERE HER BRAND BLOSSOMED.
LANA BEGAN COLLABORATING WITH A FOOTWEAR ATELIER IN THE COUNTRY’S NORTH TO BRING TO LIFE FURTHER DESIGNS, USING THE FINEST QUALITY RESOURCES, MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES. AFTER FIVE YEARS OF TRAVELLING BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND ITALY, LANA FOUND A NEW HOME IN BOLOGNA. BASING HERSELF THERE ENSURED THAT SHE COULD WORK CONSISTENTLY AND CLOSELY WITH HER FACTORY TO REALISE HER SINGULAR ‘MADE IN ITALY’ CREATIONS. THE MOVE ALSO INVIGORATED LANA, AND HER IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY CONTINUE TO GROW, SURROUNDED BY THE RICHES OF ITALIAN HISTORY AND CULTURE.
LANA VOLKOV’S HANDMADE SHOES HAVE GRACED RUNWAYS AT MFW, VAMFF, L’ORÉAL MELBOURNE FASHION WEEK, MYER FASHION ON THE FIELDS, AND HAVE BEEN FEATURED ON FASHION TV AUSTRALIA AS WELL AS IN FASHION EDITORIALS INTERNATIONALLY. WHILST HER ‘MADE IN ITALY’ COLLECTIONS HAVE BEEN PRESENTED IN MILAN AND PARIS FASHION WEEK AND ALTAROMA, THEY HAVE ADORNED THE FEET OF SARA RICCI, BENEDETTA MAZZA, OLYMPIA VALANCE, MISS AUSTRALIA CARIS TIIVEL AND SHARON JOHAL. LANA’S SHOES HAVE BEEN FEATURED IN HARPERS BAZAAR, L’OFFICIEL, NEWS.COM.AU, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, MARIE CLAIRE, DAILY MAIL UK, BUZZFEED USA.
