MODEL DESIGNER; IN THE FOUR YEARS SINCE SHE GAVE UP A MODELING CAREER TO START HER OWN BUSINESS, MICHELLE MASON HAS TAKEN THE WEST COAST FASHION SCENE BY STORM WITH HER SUPER-COOL WOMEN'S SHOES.

Footwear News, January, 2000 by LoRusso, Maryann

Michelle Mason decided to start her own shoe line four years ago because, believe it or not, she thought it would be the easiest way to break into the women's fashion scene.

"I had very little money to start my own business," recalled the 29-year-old Mason, who has since become one of Los Angeles' hottest young shoe designers. "I thought footwear would be an easy way to start [my own line]. But it turned out I was wrong."

At the time she decided to delve into shoes, Mason was living in London and working as a model. It was the mid-'90s, and she had just moved abroad after working for two years as an illustrator for Richard Tyler. "I met Richard at a trunk show right after graduating from fine arts college," Mason said of Tyler, who at the time was...