Our latest designer series is a footwear powerhouse. Marion Parke has built a solid following for her luxury shoes with orthopedic detail. Her shoes are a working women's dream, trust. What we also love about Marion is that she is real. We caught up with her at home in her kitchen, after getting her kids in bed.
You're a Pediatric Surgeon, how did you get into the shoe business?
Being a surgically trained Podiatrist, it certainly facilitated a lot of my interest in how I could make shoes differently from the way they've been traditionally made. I always wondered why shoes were so uncomfortable, and why weren't shoes that were made differently that recognized the complexity of the foot and ankle. I probably didn't recognize it to that extent, but I think I sort of wondered why a doctor wasn't more involved in the process, so... here I am!
What makes a Marion Parke shoe different?
A lot of things! First thing is our patented insole. The insole is sculpted and contoured to follow the natural contour of the bottom of the foot, it has an arch support, and ultimately what that arch and contouring allows for, is greater surface area contact between the plantar aspect and the shoes. That allows the wearer to redistribute their weight and not focus so much pressure on the ball of the foot and apply more weight to the arch and rear foot. We also use a medical grade material for cushioning that molds to the foot over time. I'll also add that we spend a tremendous amount of time looking at fit more than any other brand I've ever seen in our factories, looking down to the millimeter at every strap and how it hits the normal anatomy of the foot and how it might affect the foot or ankle based on biomechanics. We spend a tremendous amount of time looking at that.
What are your favorite styles of the season?
Love, love, love the Cyrus! It goes with everything! It's on our new molded footbed that is also sculpted and contoured to follow the natural curvature of the bottom of the foot. It was designed with this recognition of women's wardrobes and activities changing over time and wanting to blend this idea of comfort and relaxation with some real beauty and glamour in the form of beautiful leathers. It has really great brushed gold hardware and some really fun uplifting colors, so there's so much on that footbed that I think is great, and the Cyrus is just awesome.
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