King of kicks Stuart Weitzman has a legion of models and Hollywood starlets devoted to his designs. So sourcing the top models and fashion icons Joan Smalls, Lily Aldridge and Gigi Hadid to show off his spring collection in a series of sultry fashion ads was par for the leggy course.

His latest designs include delicate ankle-wrap gladiators, over-the-knee boots, heavier retro platform sandals and a black patent rendition of his staple Nudist shoe. On the gorgeous trio naturally they look glam. On you, guaranteed, they will too.

We spoke with Weitzman about why the models were cast, aside from their obvious beauty, this season's footwear essentials and his fascination with legendary objects.

How do feel Gigi, Lily and Joan embody the spirit of this collection?

All three women embody the spirit of the collection with their chic approach to street fashion, an approachable girl next door personality and a natural beauty that shines as brightly on the inside as on the outside.

What are the essential shoes every woman should have in her closet this season?

Soft as butter over-the-knee boot, black bootie with big block heel and whatever helps her feel sexy and beautiful.

The shoe trade is in your family. How did your father's shoe factory shape you? How does it continue to inform your craft?

Our family factory was not built until I was at university. It was then that I began to work summers at my father's insistence, always in the technical aspects of footwear. How right he was to insist I learn shoe making! It is a tremendous help in designing, and of course in producing.

Is Stuart Weitzman a family business now?

I like to think that the people who work for me, especially all those people who have taken the journey with me these past 30 years, are a part of my family in business. Although Coach is now our parent company.

Even after repurchasing your father's company in 1994, you chose to still manufacture in Spain. Why?

Since 1971 the shoes I designed for others, as well as for myself when I first became a partner and then the owner of the company, have always been made in Elda, both well and with success. It never even occurred to me to make them somewhere else.

What is something that you got to do with this collection of shoes that you haven't done before?

Design a few fabulously cool shoes and boots for Joan Small, Lily Aldridge, and Gigi Hadid, and be inspired by their mutual love of shoes.

Your heels this season are very strappy and bare. How do you see them being worn?

By girls who dress very cool in the day and others who know how to look incredibly sexy in the evening.

Do you have a shoe care tip that the world needs to know? There is nothing more frustrating than buying a beautiful pair of shoes, like those you design, then finding them nicked or scratched in the next few days. Do you have any suggestions for those of us so careless with our shoes?

Always wipe clean with a damp cloth. Always repackage with the fillers and stuffers that are in them when they are brand new.

What do you find continually fascinating about designing shoes?

How women can never have enough shoes, and the attraction is very much like love at first sight.

You have one of the most famous stamps in the world. Can you tell us about it? Why are you interested in stamp collecting?

Actually I do not collect stamps, but one-of-a-kind rarities. The British Guiana stamp you refer to was almost never available for public view in its 160-year lifespan. It didn't seem right. It pleases me greatly that the Smithsonian Postal Museum in Washington now has it on display for those who love stamps, and are fascinated with legendary objects.

SHOP: Stuart Weitzman