CRAFT WORK; SIRIVAN CHAK IS CREATING A CUSTOM-MADE LINE OF SHOES MERGING HIPNESS WITH TRADITION, TO THE DELIGHT OF ULTRA-TRENDY PARISIANS.(women's shoes; Paris-based designer)(Brief Article)

Footwear News, July, 2002 by Snaije, Olivia

Sirivan Chak first became obsessed with footwear when she was 11 years old. She had just arrived in Paris from Cambodia, to meet her adoptive French mother. On her feet were rubber thongs. When Sirivan saw her new mother's fashionable, expensive shoes by Maud Frizon and Stephane Kelian, she was hooked for life.

Now 30, Chak, a shoemaker, is selling her second season of women's custom-made footwear, while she puts the finishing touches on her new line for spring 2003. Last year, she opened her own tiny cobbler's shop in the trendy Montmartre neighborhood of Paris.

In this crowded workshop, decorated with wooden lasts, handmade woven belts and bags, Chak is merging traditional shoe-making methods with a hip fashion sense. Inspired by her Asian origins,...