Have you seen our latest collaboration collection yet? Our Heroines by Elena-Kanagy Loux pre-order sale is on through June 1! Each pair of Adelaide Latchet Shoes, Isabella Venetian Chopines, and Artemisia Pre-Raphaelite Shoes are 15% off to celebrate.
This collection is unique, whimsical, and especially interesting. It was so fun to design shoes with Elena, who is an artist and lacemaker with incredible creative intuition. Together, we came up with a collection of shoes that transcends between history and fantasy. All three shoes are really terrific! Today, we want to go over what our design process was like for each of these beautiful shoes.
Adelaide Latchet Shoes
Fully functional latchet shoes are kind of our ‘thing’ over here at American Duchess. In our initial brainstorming sessions with Elena, we all had 18th century shoes on our inspiration lists and mood boards, so it only seemed natural to make a latchet shoe with a French heel.
Shoes in the 18th century ran the gamut between simple, practical shoes and opulent, intricate shoes. We love that Elena’s personal style embraces maximalism and self-expression, and so we knew we wanted to incorporate that into this design. Something that felt luxurious, unapologetically feminine, and unabashedly cute and cool felt like the ticket. We were able to source an absolutely darling floral printed fabric that felt inspired by the 18th century through the eyes of Edwardian revival. When combined with coordinating cotton canvas, it worked just beautifully for what we had in mind.
Some late 19th-century shoes with elements of Rococo revival from the Met Museum.
Some opulent Georgian shoes, from the collection at the Met Museum.
In homage to 18th century maximalism, we also developed a brand-new French heel. This 3.5″/7.9 cm heel is especially curvy and sexy, and it’s height gives the shoe an irresistible silhouette. If we had a time machine, we would be pitching this shoe to Sofia Coppala for Marie Antoinette.
Not everyone is able to wear leather, which is a challenge when it comes to historical footwear. Since Adelaide has cotton uppers, a cotton lining, and a cotton-covered heel, we have elected to give it a rubber sole to make it entirely leather-free.
What else goes hand-in-hand with the aesthetic of this shoe? Why, a buckle that combines Edwardian Georgian revival , 18th century chapes, and bows, of course! That’s where the custom buckle came in. Inspired by the opulent buckles of the 1700s and the revival styles that came along in the 19th century, we created the Pearl Buckle. The Pearl Buckle is completely encrusted with half-dome pearls in a variety of sizes, and is bedecked with a splendid little ornamental bow that is decorated with glass rhinestones. The Pearl Buckle and Adelaide shoes together are a perfect example of ‘more-is-more’ at it’s best.
Our Adelaide Latchet Shoes are available in two colorways; ivory/pink, and charcoal/pink.
Isabella
When we were brainstorming shoes with Elena at the start of this whole process, chopines kept coming up. All of us yearned for a wearable chopine. To put it simply, designing and manufacturing a chopine was ambitious. Wearing these towering platform Italian Renaissance shoes alone can be intimidating, so we had our work cut out for us. But, we couldn’t miss out on an opportunity to make a chopine with Elena! So, the gears started turning.
Originally, we were thinking a velvet chopine with trim would be our goal. We quickly discovered that this simply wasn’t going to be possible. The velvet textiles we wanted to work with weren’t suitable for the process of footwear manufacturing, and sourcing trim that looked authentic was proving to be a wild goose chase. In the end, we decided to reproduce a type of leather chopine that is represented in a few different costume collections.
This solution actually worked out perfectly, because we were able to incorporate a historically accurate lace motif into the design. Not only did this mean we could reproduce some very interesting chopines, but it was also the perfect place to represent Elena’s lacemaking expertise. Of course, there had to be something lacey in this collection; Elena is a historic lacemaker and expert on the topic, after all! Laser-cutting on leather was a great solution to incorporating lace motifs without using mass-manufactured machine-made lace, which just doesn’t quite match up with the aesthetic we were going for.
The motif on Isabella’s uppers is inspired by Elena’s lacemaking practice, and on the work of Isabella Catanea Parasole (more to come in a subsequent post). Parasole was a pioneering figure in early modern textile arts in late 16th and early 17th-century Italy. Parasole carved out a respected position through her lace pattern books at a time when women faced innumerable societal obstacles in professional spaces. Her practical guides for lacework and embroidery were widely circulated among Europe’s elite. So incorporating these inspirations into Isabella felt perfect!
One of the challenges of designing a chopine was making one that would be simultaneously 1. wearable and walkable, and 2. historically accurate in shape. We spent a long time tinkering with the shape and developing the platform base for Isabella. In the end, we settled on a sculptural design that factored in the shape of historical chopines, with a heel base that helps counter-lever one’s weight to make them more stable to wear. Plus, they look deeply cool.
Isabella Venetian Chopines are available in a gorgeous ivory leather. Due to the construction of this shoe, Isabella is available in whole sizes only. As this shoe is a specialty item, we recommend placing a pre-order if you hope to get some, as future stock will likely be limited.
Artemisia
Last but not least, the wonderful Artemisia Pre-Raphaelite Shoes. This shoe ticked a lot of boxes for us; we wanted to make something sleek, low-heeled, and medieval and fantasy inspired. An Italian Renaissance shoe checked all those boxes. We set off to make something soft, flexible, and comfortable, with a latchet closure and sleek open sides. The shoe that would become Artemisia was thus born.
For those who are wondering “why are these called Pre-Raphaelite shoes?”, the answer harkens back to that combination of history and fantasy we keep mentioning. The Pre-Raphaelite movement in art and Aesthetic Dress movement of the Victorian era factored into the concept for this shoe. The clothing in Pre-Raphaelite era paintings is a dreamy blend of medieval romanticism, Renaissance inspiration, and Victorian idealism. The artists behind this movement incorporated flowing, draped fabrics, rich textures, and historically-inspired silhouettes to evoke a sense of sincerity and simplicity in their work.
The clothing donned by their subjects allude to classical antiquity and medieval fantasy. Inspired by this romanticism and medievalism within Pre-Raphaelite paintings, the Aesthetic Dress movement also embraced flowing silhouettes, soft fabrics, and handcrafted details. Pre-Raphaelite artists like Rossetti and Burne-Jones often painted women wearing loose, medieval-esque gowns- features that would soon be seen in Aesthetic dress fashions. Aesthetic dress favored comfort, individuality, and artistic expression, mirroring the Pre-Raphaelite ideal of beauty rooted in nature and history. So, it all comes together in one way or another! The Artemisia shoes can function as a medieval shoe, a Ren Faire shoe, an Italian Renaissance shoe, or an Aesthetic Dress- inspired shoe. It’s a bit magical!
Now, back to the shoe. Once we had decided upon the design of the shoe, we had to choose materials and colors. Classic black smooth leather is versatile and works great for faires, medieval and Renaissance costumes, etc.- but we were making a collection with Elena, after all! We had to shake it up a little bit. We found a gorgeous opalescent leather that seemed to contain all of the colors of the rainbow and then some when held up to the light. It just felt so authentic to Elena’s shimmering and awe-inspiring personal style. It really is a fantasy come to life!
Suede is a period-accurate material for a shoe like this, and we wanted to choose some really rich and vibrant colors that were both a tribute to pre-Raphaelite art and fit within Elena’s palette. We settled on a gorgeous teal and rich, earthy rust. Each colorway of Artemisia is beautiful in it’s own way, and it feels so true to Elena’s fabulous aesthetic!
There you have it. A collection that has a little bit of everything historical and fantastical. We’re just thrilled with how this edgy and unique collection turned out. Designing with Elena was so much fun!
The Heroines by Elena Kanagy-Loux collection is 15% off each pair on pre-order through June 1. Follow along with us through the pre-order period to learn more about our collaboration collection!
Pre-Order is Open
May 16 – June 1
15% Discount Per Pair
AmericanDuchess.com
