Brian Atwood
Brian Atwood (born August 4, 1967) is an American shoe designer of Mexican descent. He studied art and architecture at Southern Illinois University, fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and attended Joliet Catholic High School. After seven years as a model, he became the first American designer hired by Gianni Versace in Milan in 1996 and later led the women’s accessories line there.
He launched his own shoe line, Brian Atwood, in 2001 and added a lower-priced line, B Brian Atwood, priced around $200–$500. The B line later partnered with Steve Madden, who bought into the Jones Group stake.
Atwood has won several awards, including Shoe Designer of the Year in 2010 and 2011 from Red Carpet Fashion Awards, the CDA Swarovski Perry Ellis Award for Best Accessory Design, and Footwear News Designer of the Year in 2010. He also wrote Pumped, a study of stiletto heels.
His design philosophy blends fashion with practicality, noting that not only young women want high heels and that some prefer more comfortable heights. He often compares his work to the Cinderella story, highlighting the magical feeling shoes can give.
Celebrities such as Lady Gaga have worn his shoes, and he has a large Instagram following. He is married to Dr. Jake Deutsch, lives in Hudson Yards, New York, and has two dogs, Zeffirelli and Tiberius.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 23:12 (CET).