Jun 12, 2017

Meet Designer Sisters Behind Luxury Footwear Brand Angela Mitchell

We take pride in highlighting designers that embody our credo, our belief that one can channel their exceptional talents to succeed in anything, with a bit of tenacity. Meet the Canadian design duo and sisters, Krystal and Marilyn Lavoie of the luxury shoe brand, Angela Mitchell.

Angela Mitchell is delighted to introduce their debut men’s collection for F/W 17 along with Vanessa Joy Lehman. This collection offers an array of intricately detailed men’s shoes made from superior-grade Italian leathers meticulously produced in northern Italy. Each shoe also comes with integrated padding for the soles to provide support at the pressure points of the foot. Luxurious colors including black, navy, tan, and plum help Angela Mitchell’s shoes stand out on their own and make the perfect complement to a casual look or a classic, tailored suit.

Keep scrolling to find out how these designer sisters turned their passion and vision into comfortable, wearable fashion.

Who are you, where are you from, and how did the idea for Angela Mitchell come about?

Sisters Krystal and Marilyn Lavoie are from Montreal, Canada. We both have always been very creative, loved to draw and aspired to have our own business one day. We wanted to build a brand that would keep us passionate, last through time, represent us and that would be recognized worldwide.

How did you first get involved in fashion and design?

Krystal has a fashion background and both sisters are very creative and visionaries. We started to sketch and brainstorm our ideas. From our first shoe sketches, we already knew that Angela Mitchell would differentiate itself.

What attracted you to footwear specifically?

What woman doesn’t like shoes? For us; shoes make the outfit! You come across someone wearing nice shoes, you will look at them and it’s attractive.

Where did the name Angela Mitchell come from?

The Name Angela Mitchell was actually our mother’s birth name before she was adopted; Krystal Angela Mitchell

This is the reason for our authentic Swarovski cristal encrusted to each heel. We were looking for something significant that would represent us together as a team but mostly as sister designers. It is a very long process, especially here in Canada as it is very rare to find masters in the footwear. The masters of footwear are found in Italy, therefore, we targeted our research towards their skills. As we were aiming for only luxury we had to think through every little detail as luxury is in the details.

What’s the process of starting a shoe company? I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Any challenges along the way?

The most challenging part of the process was that we are young entrepreneurs and had a dream to make a reality. Every day is a challenge for entrepreneurs as starting a business needs readjustments every day, but when you believe and walk by faith, everything is possible.

Can you talk about the process of creating one of your shoes from the first idea through execution?

Inspiration & sketching are the first steps in creating a shoe. Once we are ready for a new collection the team sits down and thinks through every detail and rework some designs to make the collection a whole and keep our initial vision. Keep in mind that luxury shoes take a minimum of one year from sampling to production. Our inspiration is and can be anything. It starts from within, as you need to be mentality stimulated, especially when creating.

Our sources of inspiration are mainly anything that can be found in arts, dance, material, texture, colors, paintings, music. Anything you come across and touches you.

Any advice for young entrepreneurs trying to create their own brand or start their own shoe business?

First, believe in your dream. Visualize it every day and never let go of your insight towards your dream. Whatever challenges you have throughout your dream, face them and learn from them. There is always a solution to every problem. You might fall but must get back up; the only key is to believe.

Click here to learn more about Angela Mitchell and check out some of their shoes below.