Italian luxury shoemaker Alberto Moretti unveiled his new collection in Milan on Saturday, with ruched collar designs, brassiere gold chains and macaroon patterns in a "rock" take on the style of France's last queen, Marie Antoinette.
"She is a figure who can be interpreted in a thousand different ways," the dandyish 38-year-old designer said.
"In my vision, she is part rock, part sensual and part playful, with a reference to the cakes she liked."
The designer, who received private equity funding in 2013 for a major expansion - the latest sign of corporate interest in young designers, only has one shop in St Tropez but distributes widely.
Moretti said he was "starting to make contacts" in Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, expanding in South America and was planning to open another store in Milan or Paris by the end of 2014.
Moretti's autumn/winter 2014-2015 designs for Milan Fashion Week also featured velvet roses applied to decollete shoes and "cuissarde" boots finishing above the knee in a design "inspired by the uniforms of the French revolution".
"I go for maximum sexiness but without that becoming vulgarity and I always try and be a bit ironic," he said, before pointing out two phrases "Life is a Party" and "Dress Like It" on one pair of shoes.
"I write little phrases under the soles."
Moretti said that, while other countries can also produce quality shoes, the secret of Italian craftsmanship lies in the vision of individual artisans.
"The artisan is creative here," he said. "He becomes a designer too.
"A Chinese artisan might be able to make a perfect shoe but he does not have that."
Moretti, who is estimated to have an annual turnover of 10 million euros ($A15.33 million), said it was a constant challenge to try and "find room" among the big brand names.
But he said he was helped by customers looking for new types of shoes "instead of something they can find in every department store in the world".
And he already has a celebrity following.
Among the stars recently spotted in Morettis have been Elton John, Lady Gaga, Ryan Gosling and Cameron Diaz.
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