'I did it myself': John Fluevog looks back on 50 years in shoe biz

If you've ever heard Beyonce's song Formation,you know she namedrops her Givenchy dresses and her Roc necklaces.

What she doesn't work into the lyrics, however, are the shoes she's sporting in the music video: the Seraphina boot, designed by Canadian shoe artist John Fluevog.

The fact Fluevoghad a hand in inspiringBeyonce'sfootwear she's a size 9, if you were curious is one of the many anecdotes shared in his new bookFluevog: 50 Years of Unique Solesfor Unique Souls.

The book traces Fluevog'sfive decades in the shoe business, from his initial store in Vancouver's historic Gastown neighbourhood to his expansion across Canada and later internationally.

"I did it myself. I made mistakes. And I'm OK with that, because they're my mistakes," said Fluevog, ahead of a reading Wednesday at his eponymous store in Ottawa's ByWard Market.

Along the way, his book touches upon diverse topics like fashion trends, celebrity culture, Fluevog'sown battle with leukemia and why he thinks it's more fun to design shoes for women than men.

"I don't know why men don't wear extravagant things. I don't know why men don't wear high heels, actually," Fluevog told CBCRadio'sAll In A Day.

"The truth of it is, they don't very often. They're afraid to, and they don't. And so doing women's shoes, where they have more freedom [to wear what they want] it's more fun."

Ottawa was Fluevog's second-last Canadian stop on his book tour, with his final appearance this Tuesday in Toronto.

Listen to the entire interview withAll In A Dayhost Alan Neal below.