And then I met my husband and I was lucky enough to move in with him so I could sell my house and buy a property that I could rent out, which made sure that I became financially independent from my job.

And that was the moment that I realized I can now make my dreams come true because I don’t need to work for a boss. I can work for myself. And then I found, a lovely designer from Slovakia, and I started my website with his shoes and he’s absolutely great. But then Corona came, or Covid and my site went down, like I think the majority of fashion.

So, yeah. And then I had to quit selling his shoes because I didn’t have a market anymore. So then I started to think about what I then wanted because the shoes kept pulling me in and I then saw an article about vegan leather made from cactus. It’s made in Mexico. And from that moment on, I was really intrigued with the materials.

And I was like if I want to have my own shoe brand, it has to be something special because there are like millions of shoe brands out there, and that’s how I got the idea to make a vegan shoe brand, high heels only, and as sustainable as I can make it with my limited knowledge of shoes, materials, and everything that you have with shoes.

Naveen

Great! I didn’t even know cactus leather was a thing. I know that the last time we spoke, you mentioned there’s apple leather as well that you were looking into. So, it’s really great that we’re learning that there’s so many more suitable alternatives that are sustainable.

You mentioned that you, with your limited knowledge, you decided to take the leap and do your vegan heels brand.

How did you then get on the journey of educating yourself more about starting your own shoe business?

Birgit

Yes, I just dove in. I was lucky enough to have a manufacturer who helped me because it’s not only the upper material, it’s the lining, it’s the sole. It’s even the glue that you use that has to be vegan.

And I started searching for materials and on the other hand, the manufacturer started searching for materials. And I had two items that were very important to me in my shoes. One, vegan, of course, because I love animals and I think there are a lot of good alternatives to animal products. And the second thing was that I didn’t want to have it made from mainly new materials, especially oil byproduct because it’s harmful for the environment.

So I started to search for materials that were made from recycled materials like, recycled plastic bottles or plant-based materials. Unfortunately, the cactus leather didn’t work out for my shoes, but that put me on the path of materials that are made with plants. So yeah, I now use apple leather, which contains at least 25% apple waste.

And I also use materials that are made from corn fiber with recycled plastic bottles. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a heel manufacturer yet who can use recycled materials or plant-based materials. That’s due to the stiletto heel that I use, and the force on the heel is too big to have it made from recycled materials.

But if a manufacturer is listening and he has the solution for that, more than welcome to contact me because I want to keep on improving.

Naveen

Yeah, that would be excellent. I do think with the innovations that we’re making in the industry, I’m sure there will be a solution for you very soon.

I wanted to also talk about the colours of shoes that you’ve chosen, I think we’ve talked about it in the past briefly.

The red is really beautiful and obviously it’s, it’s really great. You have a classic black and you have a classic, I think it’s, what do you call the brown?

Birgit 

It’s in between a camel colour and a brown colour. And I think I’ve chosen my shoes, my first collection to be basics.

I have in mind that they can go on for like ten years. So that’s why I have a classic pump model and a classic ankle boot. Mainly because ten years ago they were good. And in ten years they will be good. So you can buy an item for your wardrobe that will keep you going for like ten years. And that’s also why I chose the current colours.

It’s a black, a blue, a red, and a brown. Those colours will return in your wardrobe no matter what’s in fashion. If it’s like a pastel season, you’re safe with the blue and the brown. If it’s like bright colours, you can go for the black and red. And even if you just have black suits, a pop of colour can go a long way.

And that’s why I chose these colours. And the brown, for example, you can wear it with jeans, but also with a little black dress or with a gray suit. It’s a colour that goes with everything. So that’s why I chose these colours. 

Naveen

Yeah. You know, when you put it that way, it makes so much sense because it can be like a capsule collection of your shoes, right? And you are investing in it, so it’s never going to go out of style.

So at the moment you’ve got your four different colours, you’ve got your four different sizes and styles. Are you thinking of anything new at the moment?

Birgit 

Yes. I want to expand the collection to around ten different colours.

Yeah, I won’t do fashion follow because fashion follow is what’s in today, is out tomorrow. That causes a lot of waste and also a lot of stress in production because all my shoes are handmade. That takes a bit longer time and yeah, with fast fashion, you don’t have that time, so then you need to switch to factory-made shoes. And then I can’t guarantee the happy workers, the fair wages, the quality of production.

So in the future, yeah, I want to expand to ten colours. I’m looking into also going into a nice sandal for the summer with two different heel heights and maybe for the winter, a nice knee-high boot in two colours, two or three colours. Yeah. So those are the plans.

Naveen 

Oh, nice. I can imagine that. That’ll be good.

Birgit

Those are the plans for the future and maybe expand also towards bags, but that’s a plan that I will roll out in the next two years because there’s nothing nicer than have nice pair of heels with a nice bag to go with it.

Naveen

Okay. That’s really exciting to hear. What would you describe your creative process like when you were first coming up with how you wanted the shoes to look? Did you sit down at a desk and sketch them?

Birgit 

I’m really bad at drawing, so it’s all in my head. My thought process, luckily like the classic pump, if you say a pump to someone, everybody knows what you mean. And then you have the variations in heel heights. So there’s not a lot of creativity in there.

For me, it was important I had a classic pump in mind, but the creativity for me was in getting the shoe as comfortable as possible because heels aren’t comfortable. That’s just if you walk in ten centimeters or like for eight hours, your feet will hurt. So I decided on the shape. My manufacturer knew what I was after so they could make the shoe the way I want it.

And I said, we need to be more comfortable. So a flexible outsole so you can roll your feet instead of slapping your feet on the pavement. And the insole has to be a little bit cushioned, which we made with latex. So if your feet get warmer, the latex will flow around your foot more, so it provides a cushion for your feet.

And that was, for me, important. And also with vegan shoes, you have normally the inside is plastic, which doesn’t absorb sweat and I wanted to have the lining moist absorbing so you don’t get sweaty feet. So the, there’s not a lot of creativity in the actual design, look of the shoe, but there’s a lot of creativity on the technical side of the shoe.

Naveen 

Yeah, you don’t think, you know, as someone who doesn’t know how to design a shoe or create a shoe product, I would have not thought of these things. So thank you for that insight. And that must have been a great learning curve as well. Definitely a lot of time and effort must have gone into that.

What would you say, as I know you mentioned, obviously we all know the pandemic has been really sort of devastating for a lot of small brands in the fashion industry. But what is your take on how things will be moving forward and what challenges do you see moving forward?

Birgit 

I think if I look at fashion and the material suppliers, I think we’re going to a more sustainable use of materials. There are now a lot of projects starting up. One of them is Mirum, which is absolutely great to follow. They make a leather which is totally recyclable. It’s a hundred percent plant-based, and they do fantastic projects with that. Unfortunately, I cannot use them yet on my shoes. But I’m keeping an eye on them.

And for business owners in fashion, I think it will go to more sustainable, maybe upcycling or more ways to use products, and also more use of sustainable materials, which I think will be very important, and of course you will always keep the fast fashion as nine times out of ten it’s more affordable for the majority because that’s one thing to consider;  sustainable materials are so expensive.

It makes it hard to produce products that are affordable. So that’s one thing. So I understand that there’s still a lot of fast fashion. If we can at a certain moment find the key to make sustainable materials as cheap as the current materials, the standard materials, then I see a future of everybody going into sustainable materials.

And that’s my dream.

Naveen

Yeah, for sure. Because we really don’t have much of a choice at this point. We need to move in that direction. But like you said, we have to be realistic. People are on a budget and they don’t necessarily have the budget to buy pricier items. So I think we’re moving in the right direction and we will find the solution and all we can do is keep going in that direction and you know, not sort of put our hands up and say, no, this is it.

So I really do like what you’re doing and I think we just have to keep researching and looking at better ways to innovate.

Birgit

And also get the stigma of sustainable fashion because everybody thinks when you hear sustainable fashion, it’s like the sandals, the flat sandals made of cork and the baggy trousers said, everybody thinks it’s not fashionable, but cruelty free and sustainable can be high fashion, and you can look as good as you do, or even better with sustainable fashion than you do with the normal fast fashion, and that’s also something that needs to go.

Sustainability can be sexy, or is sexy and is fashion and is looking good.

Naveen

Yeah, plus it’s comfortable. And I think, you know, if you’re talking about baggy trousers, they’re comfortable.

And if the pandemic has taught me anything, I’d prefer comfort. So if you can get style and comfort and sustainability, then you know you’ve hit the jackpot really.

Great. So at the moment, what do you do to sort of, do you network with other small brands in the fashion industry?

Birgit 

I’m trying to find my way in there because I’m definitely not really good at what’s the latest fashion and who do I need to follow.

But I do try to look at other small designers and for example, I will be going to Cape Town next week and there is a designer and she makes. lovely, absolutely lovely items. It’s called FRED RICH by Dinka, and she makes clothes out of thrift store finds or out of bedding and curtains, stuff like that. And we’re going to do a shoot with my shoes and her clothes.

And I think it’s important to do that not only for your own brand, but also to show customers that you can do so much more and that there’s so much out there that great small designers, it’s not all about Gucci, Chanel or Louis Vuitton, especially the small designers, they are often more aware of the options you have.

To create something totally different with reuse of materials, even if it’s leather or whatever. And it’s fun because you learn from each other and everybody has a different approach to fashion and business. And if you can learn from each other, you can go further.

Naveen 

Yeah, exactly. I think it’s important to collaborate.

It’s not always all about competition. Great. And then I guess if you could give some advice to someone starting out as potentially a shoe designer, someone thinking of creating their own footwear brand, what would you say to them off the top of your head? What advice would you give?

Birgit

Go for it. Of course, I was in a privileged position and I was 39 when I quit my job. I’m 42 now, so yeah, I was in a privileged position. But what you can do is, if you want it, start drawing and just start making pictures of what you can. And then don’t go to the big companies. Search online, search for small companies that already have a shoe line. Ask them for a collab.

Just be brave and be bold and search for materials that you would like to use. And buy samples of it and tell them what you want. Tell them who you are. You might not get invited straight away, but down the line they will remember you and, you can do it next to your job. If you, in the evenings, send an email in the evenings, make a drawing and it starts with one pair and then it goes on and on and on and on.

You don’t grow big in one night. It takes years of patience and hard work and determination, and that’s it. If you’re determined, I believe nothing is impossible. The dream in my head started when I was like 24 when the internet started to really come up and I was like, oh, I want to do that.

And it took me 15 years and I’m still not there. And I won’t be there for another 15 years. But if you look back, I’m further now from the starting point and I’m closer to where I wanna be. So it’s for long-term. I’m having fun. Especially with all the samples, because they’re made on my feet, so that’s good.

Naveen

I know, I know. Because you’re just building your wardrobe collection on the side. That’s just a perk of the job.

Well that’s really great advice. On that note, just wanted to thank you, really great chat. I’m sure we’ll chat in the future as well. So thank you very, very much. This was great.

Birgit

Thank you.

You can find Birgit online at:

• Website: www.empressofheels.com
• Instagram: @empress_of_heels

You can listen to the whole interview podcast over on our podcast page or by clicking here at Walking Tall: The Journey from Finance to Vegan Fashion.