"Shoes are literally my whole life," Alexandre Birman told me. "My friends have a joke that instead of a crib I had a shoebox."

The son of a Brazilian footwear entrepreneur, Alexandre was born and raised in the industry. In his home country, his family brand is a household name, and here in America, his collections of exotic leathers, strappy sandals and artisan-driven boots and flats are gaining escalating traction each season. He says he's on his way to realizing a childhood dream of designing and producing his own world-renowned namesake line one season at a time.

Alexandre points to three key elements for the season ahead: velvet, strong boots and python.

The designer told me he was inspired by what he sees as the increasing strength of women in society. This translates to the solid, steady soles of elegant ankle boots while our enduring feminine grace is conveyed in his use of soft, textural velvet.

Inside his midtown Manhattan showroom, Alexandre shared two standout velvet styles that will be available at Nordstrom next fall-one a magical midnight blue, the other an earthy burgundy tone.

He also explained that python and other exotics have always played a big role in his work; next season you'll see python paired with suede in a strappy style that asserts its made-in-Brazil DNA perfectly.

As tied as Alexandre is to Brazil and his modern, forward-thinking production facility there, he's enjoying his part-time home in New York as well. Here's the designer talking about his favorite thing to do when he's in the city.

http://blogs.nordstrom.com/fashion/files/2016/02/Birman.m4a

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-Laura Cassidy