Dieppa Restrepo: Happy Accidents Breed Fantastic Shoes
You wear the shoes, they don’t wear you.
Andrea Vargas Dieppa and Elisa Restrepo were taking a major risk when they first made a tiny sample batch of their now-iconic, unisex shoes. “We just kind of got on a bus, went to a factory and made maybe five pairs of shoes,” says Restrepo. “All out of pocket.” This was in Mexico in late 2007. The duo—both in their early 30s, and natives of Colombia—were inspired by a pair of men’s shoes they found in Mexico City.
Everything was validated in December 2007, while Dieppa was visiting L.A. — a fellow coffee shop patron complimented her on the shoes she was wearing, a go-for-broke sample. Without a brand name or fully-realized company, Dieppa said the shoes were her own design. The patron, amazingly, happened to be Steven Alan — king of citified updated basics — who placed an order the next day. Dieppa Restrepo shoes can now be purchased all over the world and are even in the personal collections of celebrities like Meryl Streep — one of their first clients, says Dieppa — and Michael Stipe.
Simple, elegant lines and maximum versatility characterize the brand’s signature. They’re almost all unisex, mind-bogglingly straightforward—the sort of well-made, intuitive basics (patent loafers, leather lace-ups) you’ve been searching high and low for—and are updates of the classics but with hardly a spec of too-trendy. “You wear the shoes, they don’t wear you,” says Restrepo.
The pair always designs together, though thousands of miles apart—Dieppa in Mexico City, Restrepo in NYC. Dieppa assures that they’re inspired by more than men’s shoes—“…sometimes it can be buildings, cars, plants, the mix of the three of them,” she explains. This is pretty clear in their fall collection, which has lots of fun with animal prints and skins and other cool textures. “I would say it’s kind of ‘glam with a sense of humor,’” says Restrepo. Glam, indeed, but shoes this good are no laughing matter.
