Patrick Cox

Patrick Cox – Life, Career, and Memorable Ideas

Discover the life and legacy of Patrick Cox — the Canadian-British footwear designer behind the iconic Wannabe loafer, his creative reinventions, philosophy, and notable quotes.

Introduction

Patrick Cox (born March 19, 1963) is a Canadian-British fashion designer, best known for his daring and experimental shoe designs and accessories. His work in the footwear world during the 1990s made him a cult name, especially through the Wannabe loafer, which became emblematic of a certain design era. In more recent years, Cox has reinvented himself, relocating to Ibiza and launching new projects infused with spiritual and expressive motifs. His career mixes boldness, reinvention, and a constant striving for meaning.

Early Life and Family

Patrick Cox was born on 19 March 1963 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Nigeria, Chad, and Cameroon, in addition to Canada.

He completed his schooling in Canada (with interruptions) and at age 17 moved to Toronto to begin life on his own.

Education & Entry into Design

At age 19, Cox made his first pair of shoes for the Toronto designer Loucas Kleanthous, who saw promise in his work and encouraged Cox toward design.

In 1983, Cox moved to London to study shoe design at Cordwainer’s Technical College (later absorbed into the London College of Fashion). He studied there from 1983 to 1985, graduating with merit. Vivienne Westwood to design shoes for her Clint Eastwood collection, a major early break.

He also designed fluorescent fringed moccasins for the Body Map brand during his studies.

Career and Achievements

Establishing the Brand & Signature Designs

After graduating, Cox launched his own label designing shoes (around 1985). John Galliano, creating footwear for his Fallen Angels collection in 1986.

By 1991, Cox opened his first boutique in London (Sloane Square / Chelsea area).

In 1993, he launched “Wannabe”, a diffusion line, which became his signature commercial success. Its Wannabe loafer, often chunky, platformed, and expressive, became iconic in the 1990s fashion scene.

Cox’s style is known for blending avant-garde and traditional elements, and for using unusual materials and design details.

His brand expanded worldwide, and he earned significant recognition:

• He won British Accessories Designer of the Year in 1994 and 1995.

• In 1996, he was awarded the Fashion Medal of Honor by the Footwear Association of New York.

Later Developments & Reinventions

In 2003, he was appointed Creative Director of Charles Jourdan, where he attempted to rejuvenate that classic French footwear label.

Around 2006–2007, the business encountered difficulties. The Hong Kong duty-free company King Power Group took a controlling interest, and eventually Cox left the company; much of the business, aside from licensing in Japan, wound down by 2008.

In 2010, Cox co-opened Cox Cookies & Cake, a pâtisserie in London’s Soho, with pastry chef Eric Lanlard.

In 2011, he collaborated with Geox, designing a capsule footwear collection under “GEOX Designed by Patrick Cox.”

In 2016, Cox launched a brand named Lathbridge (his middle name), focusing again on shoes and leather goods.

More recently, after moving to Ibiza, Cox has shifted creative direction toward Doors of Perception — a clothing and lifestyle brand infused with spiritual, psychedelic, and handcrafted aesthetic themes.

Historical Milestones & Context

• 1984: While still a student, Cox began designing for Vivienne Westwood, a turning point in his career.

• 1991: Opening of his first retail boutique in London.

• 1993: Launch of Wannabe line and the rise of the Wannabe loafer.

• 2003: Appointment to Charles Jourdan creative directorship.

• 2006–2007: Business transitions, control changes, and Cox’s departure from his own label.

• 2010–2012: Experimenting outside of fashion (the pâtisserie) and then return to design via collaborations (e.g. Geox)

• 2016: Launch of Lathbridge brand.

• 2020s onward: Reinvention around spiritual / psychedelic design, living in Ibiza, launching Doors of Perception.

Legacy and Influence

Patrick Cox left enduring marks on design and footwear:

• The Wannabe loafer remains a reference design — inspiring subsequent loafer revivals and streetwear hybrids.

• His approach of merging avant-garde gestures with wearable footwear encouraged designers to push boundaries in shoe design.

• His reinventions show how a designer can pivot across domains (food, lifestyle, spiritual fashion) and reassert creative voice rather than fade.

• The ethos behind his recent work (craft, sustainability, emotional expression) resonates with current trends in slow fashion, artisanal aesthetics, and personal narrative in design.

Personality and Approach

Cox has described feeling like an outsider, partly due to his formative years moving across countries and cultures.

He is bold, expressive, and unafraid to take risks — be that designing skin-etched shoes early on, or later diving into psychedelic aesthetics for clothing.

Cox has also spoken about how fashion once demanded narrow five-year plans — something he later rejected as incompatible with his current values.

Memorable Quotes & Observations

While Cox is not as quote-anthologized as some public intellectuals, here are a few lines and ideas from his interviews and writings that reflect his outlook:

“For me a shoe is like a building — it’s like architecture, it has an inside and an outside, and a concealed supporting structure.” “The whole point of me returning to ‘fashion’ and launching DOORS is to create joy.” On his reinvention: “I’m taking it one day at a time. My definition of success is no longer guided purely by turnover and growth for growth’s sake.” Reflecting on his immigrant / peripatetic childhood: “My tastes are varied and eclectic — a product of my peripatetic childhood … I never truly belong anywhere.”

These utterances hint at his identity as a designer who merges structure and metaphor, commerce and fulfillment, form and emotion.

Lessons from Patrick Cox

1. Embrace reinvention
   Cox’s story shows that design careers need not be linear. One can shift into new aesthetics and modes of expression while retaining creative identity.

2. Design has emotional and spiritual dimensions
   He seeks to imbue his work with joy, healing, and deeper meaning — not just visual flair.

3. Risk is part of creativity
   From designing bold shoes early on to later launching a spiritual fashion brand, Cox often operates at the edge of convention.

4. Authenticity over commercial safety
   He has stepped away from mainstream fashion pressures (closing shops, rejecting rigid planning) to align with what feels meaningful.

5. Structure meets metaphor
   His architectural view of shoes reminds us that functional constraints (structure, inside/outside) can be a source of expressive richness.

Conclusion

Patrick Cox’s journey—from crafting shoes in Toronto, through the height of 1990s fashion with Wannabe, to deeper creative resurgence in Ibiza—paints the portrait of a designer continually evolving. His legacy is not only in the shoes he built, but in his willingness to reshape himself, pursue meaning, and let personal transformation inform his craft.

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