There’s a new shoe brand on the scene. Enter: Larroudé. The name may sound familiar as the label comes from longtime fashion power player Marina Larroudé and husband Ricardo Larroudé.
From editorial to retail, the former Barneys VP fashion director and head of Schutz, has taken all of her knowledge from the industry to launch her own lifestyle brand and management platform. And despite challenges due to the ongoing pandemic, the husband and wife duo are moving full speed ahead.
“This is a great time to be entrepreneurial, brave and to take advantage of opportunities,” she said. “We will have better days and we need to fight for them.”
Marina (creative director) and Ricardo (CEO) make their debut with a footwear collection, manufactured in Brazil and developed with their very own last. The shoes, featuring boots, sandals and heels, ranging in price from $150 to $450, are available online direct to consumer at Larroude.com, with the aim of offering comfortable yet fashionable and accessible pieces.
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“[I wanted to offer] something that is practical, something that is chic, something that speaks to consumers at various times of their days and giving them the highest of quality,” Marina said, adding her expertise comes from years working at Barneys in product development. “I cried when the shoes came because I did not know that we were able to produce that high of quality shoes. I was able to realize my dream, which is to bring the best designer product to the client.”
What’s more, the Larroudés are building a fashion production business to connect others looking to expand. The idea is to align other brands, designers and fashion creatives with Larroudé’s own infrastructure used for its namesake brand. “We want to have this network of factories in Brazil is to provide to not only Larroudé [shoes], but we can produce other brands as well,” explained Ricardo. “The platform works kind of like a design studio and also as a production manager and export manager.”
To build out their own label, Marina and Ricardo are focused on organic storytelling and marketing — and they’re emphasizing a patented technology. For example, each shoe style will come with an individual QR code. “If you’re at church or a bar or during the holidays and someone says, ‘I like your shoe,’ you can just take it off. The person scans it and it’s going to open up a landing page to purchase the exact shoe,” said Ricardo.
Once the wearer registers their shoe, there’s incentive. Here’s how it works: when you register the QR, you get $5. When you get someone to buy through your QR code, you get $10. And the person that does the buying will get $15 off the purchase.
Said Marina, “There is that sense of like community right there, because as women, we want to share.”
