Fergie: Wearing High Heels ‘Gets Me Into Sensual Mode’

Fergie has been heading up her own footwear label since 2008 — and since then a lot has happened for the star. She nabbed herself a hot Hollywood husband (that would be Josh Duhamel). She performed at the Super Bowl with the Black Eyed Peas. She gave birth to a son, Axl. And she’s remained completely glamorous the whole time.

PeopleStyle recently caught up with singer at the Lord & Taylor launch of her latest footwear collection in N.Y.C., to talk about her new line, her perfect family and to find out exactly how many pairs of shoes she owns. (You won’t believe her number.)

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How involved are you in the design process?
“We have several meetings and it’s so fun, because what girl doesn’t love shoes. But we sit around and we’ve got all the different styles and we’re looking at swatches and looking at trending colors. I’ll try on the shoes, and I’m always fighting for a wider ball of the foot, because I’ve got a wide ball of my foot. We’ve evolved with the line to really be more specific as far as the DNA, and I feel like this year, we’ve done it.”

There are so many diverse styles!
“We’ve kind of brought everything to where it all is cohesive, yet each shoe has its own personality and its own character. It’s almost like making an album and all of my different songs, they all go together because it’s authentically me, but they each have something — a different style. I like that a girl can explore different sides of her personality because every girl does have a signature style but you might have a bunch of different looks you want to try.”

What’s a signature Fergie shoe?
“I’m obviously obsessed with metal embellishments. I like shoe jewelry, but in a tasteful way.”

Has your style has changed now that you’re a mom?
“Well the heels are lower, because it’s just not possible — it’s not safe — to be in stilettos all the time when you’re running around after a 2-year-old. But it’s actually more special now when I put on a heel. It gets me into sensual mode if you will.”

There are some really fun low, combat-style boots in the collection, perfect for running after a toddler!
“Yea, I wore the Nemo to Axl’s birthday party. The theme was planes, trains and Axl-mobiles, and so our family dressed up as jet fighter pilots. It was all different transportation, so those were great for that.”

Are you the big shoe hoarder in the house? What’s Josh’s collection like?
“He’s got a lot of shoes for sure, but we’re always trying to purge in our house to consolidate.”

How about Axl’s shoe collection? It must be growing, quickly.
“I know! He grows so quickly. I’m kind of obsessed, but I have to remember it’s all about high-low, because they grow so fast and I could easily spend so much money on his wardrobe, so I have to have a balance there.”

Can you put a number on the pairs of shoes in your closet?
“Well I have, I don’t know … 300 pairs. I have a shoe closet, but in my closet I have a separate closet that is only my Fergie footwear shoe closet, that I designed. One day I’ll do a photo-shoot of it. I’m super proud of it.”

If you had to choose between knee-high and thigh-high boots, where would you land?
“Hmm…I’m kind of a thigh-high girl. Just a little more naughty.”

How would you style them?
“More recently, I’ve been pairing them with kind of a baggier T-shirt or blouse.”

Do you have any red carpet shoe horror stories?
“Yeah, I had a performance at the Brit Awards. We were performing “Shut Up,” it was a Peas performance, and I had a Jimmy Choo shoe and it was one of the ones that you have a strap that you tie around your ankle — I had it tied super tight so that my ankle would be sturdy. Well the second I walked out on stage I stomped, because I’m really hitting it — and it ripped. Beginning of a song. So I had to just walk around with my ankle just locked the entire performance, and I went on autopilot. It didn’t fall off, thank the Lord.”

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–Brittany Talarico