Our main goal in creating Alterre was to provide chic and stylish shoes that don't inhibit the comfort of the wearer. We also wanted to make the shoes interchangeable so that the looks could be updated, but who cares if they interchange if you can't wear them for more than a couple of hours? So we designed shoes that were wider at the ball of the foot than the average women's shoe, with heel heights tested for comfort, as well as added foam padding under the sock liner to make them perfect for all day wear.
We know you may have seen other modular shoe lines that interchange parts of the shoe. What makes our line so unique is that you can change the looks (straps) between heel heights. This way you can actually change what your shoe looks like to match the occasion.
Designing looks that change between heel heights is actually pretty tough. The shape of your foot changes with the incline of the shoe you are wearing, making it difficult for a look to fit comfortably both ways. We spent two years prototyping (and getting potentially high off of contact cement in our windowless studio) to bring you the styles we have today.
Why not make the heels interchangeable you ask? When you move around the heel height on a fixed shoe it effects the balance and fit. Think about the weird feeling you get walking when the rubber on your heel wears off. It's because the heel has changed heights.
Our shoes are designed in New York City but produced in fair labor factories in Brazil. We work with shoe experts with over 30 years of experience both in Brazil and the US to bring you a shoe that is as expertly crafted as possible.
We firmly believe in producing shoes using fair labor, and to ensure peace of mind we visited the factory ourselves and made sure that everyone there was happy and healthy.
All Alterre shoes are made with genuine leather that we source locally in Brazil. The leather is a bit more expensive than some from other parts of the world, but our customers deserve the highest quality we can offer. We source the leather and other shoe components directly in Brazil to reduce our transportation carbon footprint overall.
As fashion designers we inherently create waste, and did our best to produce a shoe that lessens that impact. Because the looks are interchangeable, you only have one base lift and many shoes, meaning less production of plastic heels.
Show everyone who’s the boss in style. Elsie is a true chameleon. Pair this look with an evening gown for your next benefit gala or dress it down with capris for a bonfire on the beach.
