……………..Andrea Pfister was all about the details!….Every part of a shoe was well thought out…from the last [shape of the silhouette] to the heel…..He loved to design intricate patterns, and his shoes were VERY LABOR INTENSIVE! He was known for his “BIRDCAGE SHOES”, bottom row second in from the left, and they were widely copied. Even today his influence is seen in many shoes. His materials were the finest and rarest….Crocodile. Lizards, Snake skins Suedes, and Calf skins, silks both printed and solid, satin and failles, straw and raffia were his pallet…. If Andrea could make a shoe out of it…he use it!…..Every season Jean Pierre would shop the leather and trim shows in Europe looking for the newest treatments to show Andrea. He had close relationships with tanners and was hired by one of the best to do their colors each season. He worked very far in advance. Many times he shared his colors with me which I used for my apparel at AK…..so I always had shoe colors to match the clothes…..It was an incredible collaboration!! I learned so much from Andrea about how to make and design a shoe. I watched him from the very first step to the final result…..It was fascinating….He even put his doggies….New York and Brooklyn…on his shoes and boots…….His creativity astonished me……He never did a “plain” pair of shoes…..Even his “simple” pumps had an interesting shape, toe character and heel…..and of course made in the most exotic materials……With tanneries he created different finishes to the skins giving snake and crocodile a suede finish….glazing, printing, hand painted, and ombre finishes to create something knew!…..His mind was always working and creating.