In conversation with Malone Souliers
Mary Alice Malone and Roy Luwolt explain the holistic approach of their luxury footwear brand
Let’s start from the very beginning. Why did you choose shoemaking as a medium to express your creativity?
Mary Alice: I am a maker and I like making 3D objects. Shoes entirely change the body dynamics. Wearing high heel, or flats or low heels, is an incredible experiential process. I like the idea that you can change the way you interact with the world and with yourself but also they way the world interacts with you. I find that incredibly powerful and intriguing. Function comes first. I like being pigeonholed by functionality. The thing I am most interested in is the craft. The making and the materials are everything, absolutely everything for me.
Roy: We also consider very carefully the specificity of shoes design because it demands the most of all accessories and ready-to-wear categories where you can mess up a cut or a size. You simply cannot do that with footwear.
Let’s talk the MINISMALLS collections, the adorable ranges for young girls from 3 to 10 years.
Mary Alice: It was a surprisingly natural evolution and a rather easy process with a very playful, very colourful, very safe result. Needless to say, we consider ergonomics and engineering with a lot of care and attention because safety is of the utmost importance. Children grow and develop every day, with children you have do worry about things that aren’t a concern with grown-ups and. Therefore, our children’s shoes are safe and healthy for their feet, we want to make sure that they don’t fall off their feet and make them trip.
Roy: MINISMALLS was planned from Day One. We wanted to offer something not just in terms of physical emulation but also in terms of shopping experience emulation. We are aware that a lot of mothers rather not go to a childrenswear store, as it would be a boring experience for them, but rather buy their children’s shoes where they buy theirs. It works out more as a fellowship between mother and daughter that makes complete sense to us. We didn’t know invent this trend, it is something that we are responding to.
What about the MINISMALLS collaborations with Roksanda and Natalia Vodanova?
Roy: It’s something that started with the main collection and carried forward into children’s shoes. A holistic process since we all share the same equity of voice. With Natalia, for example, because of her foundation that creates playgrounds for autistic children all over Russia. That’s something that matter a lot for us because Malone Souliers is more than just a luxury footwear brand.
by Peppe Orrù