Robyn Shreiber’s vision for comfortable heels is quickly finding a following.
The longtime J&J snack food executive ventured into the footwear business in 2020, when she launched Beautiisoles by Robyn Shreiber, a line of luxury women’s fashion shoes that keep comfort top of mind. The brand was born out of Shreiber’s personal challenges with footwear. After years of wearing heels that were too small, she developed a serious foot condition that required emergency surgery.
And Shreiber is someone who needs to take care of her feet. For nearly a decade she’s been a competitive Pro-Am ballroom dancer.
Ironically, she said, it was her work wardrobe — not her dance heels — that caused the problem. “As a Latin dancer, the shoes are open-toed, but as an executive, those shoes were close-toed,” Shreiber recalled. “I was running around the country in heels that were just too tight.”
With Beautiisoles, she set out to bring comfort to women’s fashion footwear by incorporating wider toe boxes, enhanced cushioning and supportive constructions, based on advice from her own doctors. “But we don’t want to be an orthopedic brand,” she said. “We want to be a beautiful, gorgeous, stunning shoe that people go, ‘Wow, these are so comfortable.'”
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Her first collections were sourced out of Mexico, but a fateful meeting at an April 2021 trunk show in Miami Beach, Fla., proved to be a turning point for the brand. It was there that Shreiber met longtime footwear industry exec John Hanna, whose background includes top roles at Charles David and Donald Pliner, among others. Hanna helped “transpose” the line from Mexico to Italy. And in late 2021, the brand relaunched with a newly elevated aesthetic.
The updated look has caught the attention of retailers. Beautiisoles is now selling on Nordstrom.com and Lordandtaylor.com, as well as in roughly 80 boutiques, including Harry’s in New York City, Yarid’s in West Virginia and Curio at Faena Bazaar in Miami Beach. And this month, it debuted a new e-commerce website to foster more direct sales.
Looking ahead to spring ’23, Shreiber said her latest collection is ultra-feminine with soft pastels and floral prints. “Our shoes are absolutely beautifully crafted and very feminine with lots of details,” she said. Key styles for the season include the Greta leather slingback (retailing for $389), the Gioanna linen pump ($375), the Eva satin kitten heel ($315) and the Liana embellished mule ($375). The spring line also includes platform wedges, flat slides and loafers.
