A Flirty New York Label Reimagines a Classic Parisian Shoe
Miaou Gives a Parisian Footwear Label a Modern Makeover
Alexia Elkaim’s Miaou has become the sassy downtown girl’s go-to for jeans over the past two years, serving as a staple for a range of women, including models Bella Hadid and Paloma Elsesser, as well as Selena Gomez. Now, Elkaim is conquering another part of fashion: footwear, by applying the Miaou attitude to the classic Parisian shoe label Carel. Elkaim, who is based in the United States and grew up in France, worked with Carel to create fives pairs of shoes. There is the “Amalia” ($445), a kicky block heel pump in a red tartan and the pointy-toe “Rosa” ($415) that boasts a circular heel. There’s also a go-go-style boot in the mix, the “Malaga” ($675), which comes in denim and silk with a capped toe.
Miaou Gives Parisian Shoe Label Carel a Modern Twist
The collaboration, which launches for pre-order today on Miaou.com and Carel.fr, is a kicky mesh between old and new. Elkaim’s Miaou was launched in 2016 while Carel has more history. It was established in 1952 by Georges Carel who famously created the “Kina” Mary Jane heel that stood a little over an inch and a half and came in a variety of colors. Carel itself has been featured in American Vogue on famed French women like Francoise Hardy. (She wore a pair of “fawn-colored” Carel shoes in the August 1964 issue.) Elkaim viewed the heritage label as synonymous with France and had considered it to be “a household French name.” Elkaim had also long associated Carel with her grandmother (“a queen!” she says) who often wore the label. She noticed that the brand felt surprisingly fresh when she saw it stateside in 2015. “When they [Carel] launched with Opening Ceremony, I was like, ‘Oh, this is retro and cool.’ I think I needed to see it reappropriated in a marketplace,” she says. “Carel’s presence in the States is different. It has more of a irony to it.”
Elkaim applied a fresh palette and also managed to resurrect a forgotten shoe style of Carel’s, too. During the design process, she explored the Carel showroom and noticed an almost hidden sling-back, peep-toe shoe. “It was in python and it was super old,” says Elkaim. “They were like, ‘We don’t make them anymore. It’s not very commercial. The Carel girl wouldn’t wear it.’ But I was like, ‘The Miaou girl would wear it!’ ” Beside Miaou featuring the flirty silhouette, Carel also re-issued it in their mainline collection: a coquettish shoe that is now christened the “Saturne” and comes in denim. “I love toe cleavage,” she adds. Bien sur.
