British luxury footwear designer Nicholas Kirkwood has announced that he is closing his eponymous label after 18 years, stating that the brand has “run its course”.

In an open letter on the brand’s website, Kirkwood said: "It's been an immense privilege to bring my vision for a shoe brand to life over the past 18 years. I launched Nicholas Kirkwood in 2005 with a mission to deliver a dynamic new architectural but still feminine silhouette executed to the highest quality I could achieve.”

He added that while he has collected so “many incredible memories and invaluable learnings” over the years and collaborated with many “visionaries,” he just felt that his focus on developing green manufacturing in footwear was leading him down a “new path” towards a new sustainable concept.

Image: Launchmetrics Spotlight; Nicholas Kirkwood SS19

Luxury footwear designer Nicholas Kirkwood hopes to return with new sustainable concept

Kirkwood added: "I think, in many ways, the brand has run its course, for now. This coupled with my die-hard passion and pursuit to find viable planet-positive solutions for the intensely un-planet-positive footwear industry, has led me to make the incredibly emotional decision to close the Nicholas Kirkwood brand.

“Over the past year, I’ve been focusing my energies on developing next generation green manufacturing and material technologies for footwear, which if successful, I’ll incorporate into a totally new concept for a brand, which in turn I hope will go some way towards a carbon neutral future.”

Image: Launchmetrics Spotlight; Nicholas Kirkwood SS19

Kirkwood launched his namesake label in 2005 after noticing a gap in the market for statement shoes, and his avant-garde and architectural creations caught the attention of editors and buyers, as well as LVMH, who acquired a stake in the brand in 2013. However, in 2020, the two announced a “mutual and amicable” split, as the French luxury conglomerate shifted its focus towards its super brands.