The fashion industry has long rallied around everything Leandra Medine — her quintessentially quirky style, her witty-meets-pretty Instagram, her brazen fashion website Man Repeller and as of late, her newly launched Leandra Medine footwear collection. Rebranded from her MR by Man Repeller line (an accessibly priced and eclectically designed assortment), Medine evolved her offering in order to shift into more premium product.
“I didn’t think I could compromise what goes into the development of making these shoes and risk losing what makes them special, so I rebranded them. Man Repeller is launching a smaller holiday pilot, not of shoes, but of different accessories at an entry-level price point,” said the FN cover star at her New York Fashion Week event in conjunction with The Webster. Held at the luxury chain’s SoHo boutique, the Instagram aficionado showcased her fall ’18 range which is available for purchase now at the store itself along with retailers including Farfetch, Barney’s and Luisa via Roma.
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The ruffled mules, including a pink and green colorway exclusive to The Webster, have already been a hit with the press according to Medine. Meanwhile, other options like patent booties with floral toppers, jacquard monk strap loafers and Swarovski-embellished fringe sandals diversify the assortment in silhouette, color and fabrication. Styles are priced from $375 for the mule to upwards of $800 for the jacquard knee-high boot.
“The collection is really split up. Half is supposed to exist in order to accommodate and appease a wardrobe that is already there so I made the ruffle mules anticipating that they aren’t shoes you buy to wear with wacky clothes so much as they are to wear with the staples every woman presumably already owns. Then the rest of the shoes, like the boots and the loafers, are more of a quirkier take on wardrobe staples you want to come back to season after season but that still maintain that rush of excitement and impulsiveness you get when you buy something so specific,” explained Medine.
Though relishing in her own fashion week fanfare, the entrepreneur is still excited to enjoy other events and support fellow designers especially emerging talents.
“I’m excited for the newer designers that are shaping New York fashion like Eckhaus Latta, Area and Maryam Nassir Zadeh — those brands have started to feel like the core of what makes New York fashion special. They’re really different from the fashion we see in other cities, and they’re dimensional in that they’re not just about clothes. They’re so wrapped up in identity politics and the way in which we are absorbing the human spirit and also our relationship with our bodies and ourselves in a way that’s really intelligent. I’m excited about that movement because it’s a pretty direct manifestation of ‘fashion is more than just clothes,'” she said.
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