It seems fitting that before you meet Dora Teymur, you hear him – specifically, the sharp clack of his heels. The black suede Cubans he is wearing announce him before you clock his bird-like legs, swaddled in tight black denim, that merge into a skintight black polo-neck. His moustache is so symmetrical it looks drawn on, while his Miami Vice-era Ray-Bans never leave his face. It’s like watching a beatnik walk into a cowboy film.

Turkish-born Dora is the designer behind Dorateymur, a shoe label launched in 2012 and now in its fourth season. His shoes mimic his persona, snappy and sleek. Watching Dora move to the likes of the Doors, Chic and Madonna is like having a private audience at the Royal Ballet, while his conversation is far more sophisticated than his 24 years.

With his label, Dora has deconstructed and reinvented the square toe and chunky low heel, marrying it with mules, Cuban-style boots and ankle huggers. The interiors of classic cars shaped his SS15 collection. A mock crocodile-skin boot in brown, white and burgundy recalls the plush leather seats of a Rolls-Royce. But there’s nothing stuffy about his work. His shoes are comfortable without being conformist, the textiles minimalist without being mundane. And, unlike stilettos, they are designed to be worn and walked in, not just looked at. “Lifestyle” (as he puts it) comes first. He would know: he tries them all on.

Dora first set about making shoes while studying at the London College of Fashion. “A pair of beige low-heel mules with a single ankle strap,” he remembers. His tutor was less than impressed, however, and dubbed them “granny shoes.” Naturally, Dora turned the “granny shoe” into a signature silhouette, or, as he puts it, “Millennial, modernist and slightly nostalgic shoes that don’t tire your eyes.”

So what led to his obsession with shoes? Rather than the usual fashion story – a mother who loved her high heels – it is much more primal. Dora has a terrible phobia of feet.

Text by Harriet Verney