French shoe brand Soloviere keeps it simple with new silhouettes and an eye for detail
Move over Common Projects – Soloviere is the new understated shoe brand to invest in, with owner/shoemaker Alexia Aubert creating unique styles with exceptionally high quality
French brand Soloviere is the casual shoe brand that everyone is talking about. The independent label was launched by French shoemaker Alexia Aubert in 2014 with two simple styles – the Pantome loafer and the Matthieu, a supersoft slipper featuring a folded tongue – now the brand’s signature, which Aubert says was inspired by the way a couturier drapes fabric.
“I had a vision for men’s shoes. I wanted to create new silhouettes that weren’t in the market. I imagined a new way of closing shoes that still looked elegant. We used only one last and one piece of leather with minimal stitching. I didn’t want to do a trend thing. I wanted to create a Tod’s type of shoe – something you wanted to have in every colour,” she says.
Aubert knows a thing or two about the business. At the age of 21 she made the decision to study shoemaking (“not design,” she asserts), making her one of the few women in the then male-dominated industry. She went on to work alongside greats such as Christian Louboutin and Pierre Hardy, giving her a solid foundation that helped her launch her own label.
“Louboutin used to spend a lot of time in the factory, forming close relationships with the workers. I learned the more time you spent taking part in the evolution of the shoe, the better it is. Pierre taught me that design is all from the imagination. Rather than get inspired by vintage or books, everything comes from my own mind. When I create a style, I can truly say it’s my own,” she says.