How This Former Ralph Lauren Designer Is Building Her Own Collection of Comfort-Driven Heels
Inez is all about elevating the woman who wears heels.
Created by Hannah Spinelli, who was prompted by her own struggle to find shoes that properly fit her narrow feet, Spinelli saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the market.
Since launching on the market, Inez has set itself apart by developing its own proprietary signature insoles by working directly with leading biomechanical engineers and expert shoemakers to tailor them to fit the heels. The brand, designed in New York and made in a third-generation family factory in Spain, has three different widths for every size to cater to its customer’s diverse feet needs.
The shoes’ style are designed to combine clean lines, contemporary proportions and alluring textures. Notably, in 2022 the Inez Sasha Crinkled Leather Sandals won WWD’s best wedding shoes list for “most comfortable bridal sandals.”
Here, Spinelli speaks to WWD about creating Inez, her obsession with comfort, proprietary insoles, sustainability practices and more.
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What prompted you to start your own shoe line?
Hannah Spinelli: Starting a shoe line is something I’ve had in the back of my mind for a long time. I’m a shoe nerd. I love designing them, but I also love the process of making them, collaborating with artisans and finding holistic solutions that address both visual and functional aspects. With Inez, I can align those skills with a meaningful vision. I’m drawn to the design challenge of creating shoes that make women feel beautiful while prioritizing their comfort.
What gaps were you seeing in the market?
H.S.: When I first started exploring the idea, I found that brands making “comfort dress shoes” did so at the expense of aesthetics and quality, and no one was making them in Europe. At that point, I had over a decade of experience in Italian and Spanish factories, and I wanted to make a comfortable heel with that same level of craftsmanship.
What drives your obsession with comfort? How do you utilize design and aesthetic detail to complement that focus?
H.S.: My obsession with comfort is quite personal. I am a heel-lover with very narrow feet (AA) and finding comfortable shoes that fit well has always been a problem.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve lost all tolerance for discomfort in footwear. I don’t expect heels to feel like sneakers, but I know there is a lot of room for improvement. For many women like myself, our proprietary insoles with arch support combined with width options will be a complete game changer.
When I design our heel shapes and platforms, I’m hyper-aware of the pitch. A 5mm change in heel height feels very different on the foot. I will meticulously fine-tune the proportions to make the heel appear higher while maintaining a lower optimal height for wearability.
How has your background influenced your own aesthetic?
H.S.: As a senior footwear designer at Ralph Lauren for over 13 years, I came to appreciate the timeless elegance and how it can outweigh the appeal of passing trends. I also learned the intrinsic link between aesthetics, quality and authenticity — ultimately where a shoe is made and the hands that it passes through are just as vital as a beautiful concept.
Talk to us about your proprietary plush insoles. How did you work with biomechanics engineers to achieve seamless insoles for your heels? How hands-on were you in the beginning?
H.S.: The comfort technology in our heels was a collaboration between biomechanics engineers and our in-house shoe technicians. The research we used to develop our insoles has existed for years. Top athletic footwear brands, like Nike and Adidas, paved the way for comfort in running shoes. What we did that was special was adapt the research for a heel and then tailor the insole to fit seamlessly in our shoes.
From the beginning, I worked closely with the researchers and our in-house team of shoemakers, especially when it came to building the insoles into the shoes themselves.
Would you elaborate on Inez’s responsible manufacturing and ethical practices? How is the company furthering its sustainability goals?
H.S.: Responsible manufacturing is part of our “Enduring Fashion” philosophy. Enduring Fashion, as we call it, is an internal compass for how we do things and the kind of company we want to run. It has a few elements.
On the product side, I used to design thousands of shoes a year. Now I design a few shoes a season. I want our customers to enjoy styles that are relevant for years to come. The goal is to strike the perfect balance, where our heels are neither overly conventional nor excessively trendy.
From a manufacturing and distribution standpoint, selling directly to customers helps us avoid overstock, which is a huge issue in this industry and leads to so much waste. Instead, we use small-batch manufacturing practices and sell nearly every shoe we make.
What are your favorite shoes at the moment?
H.S.: We recently built our comfort components into platforms for the first time. The Camilla Sandal and the Pilar Bootie are two of my favorite styles. Camilla has a 3.9-inch heel with 1.2 inch-covered platform and Pilar has a 4-inch heel with 1.2 inch-covered platform.
