HomeUnwind NewsTimeless design has nothing to do with sales or marketing, says ex-VW design chief de Silva

Timeless design has nothing to do with sales or marketing, says ex-VW design chief de Silva

Former VW Group design head Walter de Silva on creating stilettos, the most beautiful car he ever designed, and his toughest product design assignment so far.

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By Murali K Menon  July 6, 2019, 10:44:06 AM IST (Updated)

Timeless design has nothing to do with sales or marketing, says ex-VW design chief de Silva
Walter de Silva is among the most influential automobile designers of the last 50 years. De Silva not only designed cars such as the extremely elegant Alfa Romeo 156, the Audi A5 and R8, but, as head of VW Group design for around eight years, his imprimatur can also be seen in relatively more mundane but equally seminal cars such as the VW Golf, the Polo and the Up.


In 2015, de Silva left VW and plunged, almost immediately, into designing stilettos for women. De Silva, who began his career at Fiat in 1972, says his shoes are made for “the evening, (they are) meant to be worn after 6pm”. The eponymous brand is available at tony pin codes in the United States and at several locations in Europe. In February this year, a couple of months after launching his 2019 shoe collection, de Silva, who has also designed cameras for Leica and the Luft armchair for Poltrona Frau, among others, also released a monograph on product design. In an interview with CNBCTV18, de Silva talks about his fascination with women’s shoes, the first car he ever sketched, and what he would like to design next.

Walter de Silva


I started doodling cars when I was about four or five. By that time I could identify nearly every brand on the roads. The cars that most fascinated me back then were American automobiles. Back in 1950s Italy (de Silva was born in Lecco, near Milan), Cadillacs stood out. The first car I ever bought was Italian, though — a Fiat 500.

If you ask me, the most beautiful car I ever designed was the Audi A5. A lot of people will tell you that the Alfa Romeo 156 was better-looking, but I came into my own at VW. You could say that Alfa Romeo was my girlfriend, but I married Volkswagen. Working at VW, where I oversaw 12 brands, of course, came with its own set of challenges. But, thankfully, I reported only to Martin Winterkorn (former group CEO of VW), and didn’t have to deal with the marketing department. I firmly believe that timeless designs are those not in the least influenced by marketing or sales. I remember when we were designing the 7th generation Golf, he would often visit us. He was eager to see what the new car looked like. But I would bargain for more time. I would tell him, “I can see the car, I can look at it, but I can’t feel it.” He understood what I meant when he saw the new Golf (2013). That is what design has always meant to me, regardless of whether we are talking about the Egoista (de Silva designed the concept for Lamborghini in 2013), or the Golf or the Polo.



I took to designing women’s shoes because of two reasons. One of them was because there was already a precedent in our family when it came to making shoes. My grandfather made shoes for women, and I became familiar with the art and the business while growing up. As importantly, like with cars or yachts, shoes, too, are all about form in motion. The heel, the ankle and the leg – these ultimately become part of one unit that is designed to make movement easier and impactful. To me, shoes are the most important accessory as far as women are concerned. They showcase the beauty of the legs. The ones I make are extremely light – they weigh less than 150 grams – and the accent is on eco-friendliness.

Over the years, I have designed several things. I enjoyed working with Leica on the M9 camera. I used titanium, sapphire crystal (for the screen) and Nappa leather, and I think I did a good job of it, even though I am in no way a photographer.

With Leica camera


I’ve designed lamps, but I think chairs are the toughest things to design. Millions of chairs are made across the world, but only a handful is really comfortable. The Scandinavians do chairs well. Their work reflects their culture and ethos, and they are equally good at designing various other objects as well. But I often wonder why I haven’t come across a single good car designer from the region in all these years. There are a couple of things on the anvil: my autobiography is one. Then, I’m working on a range of golf karts and these should be out next year. I’d also love to design an aircraft, or maybe a good speaker.





The writer works on content strategy at Haymarket SAC

Read Murali K. Menon's columns here.
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