Autumn Collection 2017 - Origin of Luisa Toledo

In this first article of the blog, I want to make you participate in how everything was conceived, like my passion for fashion, beautiful and well made things led me to design women's shoes.

Although the project was an idea matured for more than 3 years, the starting point was the fall of 2016. Before going to Mexico to do my practice part of the University, I proposed my intention to create a new brand linked to the world of women's fashion, where women's shoes were particularly important.

Although my family has been linked to the world of shoes for women since more than 30 years, everyone was surprised when I made them part of my intentions, until now I had never expressed my interest in shoes, beyond the desire to try and know every new collection.

Once back from the practice period in Mexico, that kept me away from the project but at the same time maturing the idea, since I was able to see firsthand how appreciated was the Made in Spain footwear for women outside our borders. Then it was time to get down to work. The first thing was to learn the ins and outs of shoemaking: technical details, leathers, forms of manufacture, lashings, parts of shoes, history of women's shoes .... The truth is that it was intense, something that normally takes years to master, I was fortunate enough to be able to catch up in just a few months.

With all the basics knows about the world of newly assimilated women's shoes, we had to work the definition of the brand image, name, design the first shoes, concrete the distribution... I must admit that the experience of my family here has been my best asset. Thanks to their support, they managed to update me on a time record, accompanying me throughout the process, advised me on the idea of ​​marketing the shoes myself, avoiding intermediaries.

From the first moment I knew that the name of the brand had a tribute to women, because to me it is nonsense that the world of women's shoes, is overwhelmed by brands with male names. With this premise, my first option was to appeal to the name of my grandmother, Luisa. She was the founder of the family business and a woman who represents all the values ​​that I would like to convey in each shoe: illusion, strength, passion and beauty. Thus was born Luisa Toledo, in honor of all women and my grandmother Luisa as the main reference.

Arriving at this point, with the brand defined, now the work was really hard: to design the first time the Luisa Toledo Collection. In my head I was very clear that it would be elegant and feminine shoes, but above all very wearable and timeless.

With these premises I focused on designing stilettos, since the lounge shoes belong to that kind of female footwear. Pass the time that passes, they are always there, being the same essence of women's shoes.

Once the initial patterns were elaborated and during the tests of the first prototypes, I was struck that high-heeled shoes, even though I really liked them, the excessive height of the heels limited the occasions in which I could use the stilettos . It is very difficult for me to take a 10 cm stilettos during all day long of work. When I realized this situation, I asked many of my close friends, most of them made me believe that we needed shoes that, besides being nice, were comfortable enough to carry them all day (or all night).

At that moment I threw myself in search of shoes that had the perfect balance between comfort and elegance, designing mid-heeled stilettos (between 6 and 8 cm). Shoes with sensible heels, like the kitten heels, that allowed us to wear them throughout the day without having to give up those extra centimeters that make any style look much more.

Then there was the task of transmitting my ideas to the production phase, cause I was very clear that the whole manufacturing process would be 100% Made in Spain. Visits to factories was one of the hardest tasks I remember from the whole process. Meetings with suppliers selecting leathers, materials, heels and completions... Seemed like a process that could be extended to infinity! Designing women's shoes is really hard work, if the level of demand you employ is high: I wanted to achieve a luxury women's shoes at an affordable price.

I remember one of the phrases that was repeated the most: "That is impossible, can not do," whenever I proposed to make an improvement without raising the price. In the end I can say with pride that most of the times they were wrong who told me that, the proof of it are the shoes that make up our first Collection.

Starting the production, there was the task of defining the marketing, with the idea of ​​avoiding intermediaries that increased the price of shoes. I decided to take charge of the whole process: design, production and distribution. So it is very likely that if you call me at the office, I will be the one that can resolve any doubt ;)

Thanks to the Internet, the possibility of marketing Luisa Toledo shoes to everyone, was possible, so we had to build the Web that would represent our image. I must admit that if it was difficult to design shoes, launching LuisaToledo.es was not been a smooth one. I wanted the experience of buy shoes online through our store was something fascinating: being able to appreciate the softness of the skins by just seeing the shoes online, feel the passion that contains each design... Finally I think the effort has paid off. Now it is only to know the opinion of all of you! Because as I said, Luisa Toledo is a tribute to all women.

To finish this first article of the blog, I want to leave this door open to all those women who love fashion, especially shoes:

If you have a personal blog, you are active in the RRSS or you want to collaborate writing in our blog, you can be part of the universe of Luisa Toledo. Write to us at the e-mail address: hola@luisatoledo.es