Head over heels

have gone beyond the obsession with labels and know a good design when they see it," says shoe designer Angeline Lee. "And if the price is good, they will buy three of them."

Lee has just launched her eponymous collection for spring-summer 2013 at Hong Kong boutique Aalis, in Causeway Bay. She is part of a new wave of female designers making huge strides in the industry - among them are Briton Sophia Webster and Danish-born Camilla Skovgaard, who, like Lee, both trained at the Royal College of Art.

Having returned from her workshops in Guangzhou, Lee looks relaxed in the sun-drenched Cafe Grey at The Upper House in Admiralty. Her lipstick shines bright red and on her feet are a pair of her patent black leather Kiki flats with studded bows.

Lee was classically trained as a sculptor, and her latest collection was inspired by the works of Romanian-born Constantin Brancusi.

Her collection pops with feminine, eye-catching designs, from the golden swirls of the hand-carved, wooden, wedged Daze to the simple shapes embellished with spiral details seen in Harp and Dew.

"Sculpting influences a lot of my work. I love doing crazy stuff and I wish I could do more but you have to balance crazy with what women want to wear," she says. "For me, the big challenge is creating an avant-garde collection that is also functional, comfortable and has some sense of commerciality."