Helen Mirren professed to be “in love with these shoes” and Gabrielle Union said, “These may be the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn in my life.” Worn by Julia Roberts, Viola Davis and Drew Barrymore to Hollywood premieres. Queen Camilla owns 13 pairs, which she wears at almost all of her official engagements.
Sole Bliss started in 2017 to create shoes for style-conscious women who suffer from bunions and other foot conditions, but it's not a brand that screams red carpet glamor. But in recent years, the small British label has attracted a fan base among celebrities and royalty, who wear its shoes for high-profile events that require them to be on their feet for hours.
As awards season heats up with the Golden Globes broadcast on January 7th, Saul Bliss is taking a big step into new territory: collaboration. The first is a collaboration with Elizabeth Stewart, the longtime stylist for Hollywood heavyweights including Roberts, Cate Blanchett and Jessica Chastain. Stewart started offering try-ons as an experiment after finding the shoes online in 2020.
“Some of my clients are willing to suffer for beauty, and some are not,” Stewart says. “But when Saul started offering Bliss as an option, it was remarkable how many people came back and said it really worked and they were very comfortable.”
The shoes are now an important part of Stewart's toolkit. “It made sense to put my own stamp on some of the designs I used often so I could take them to the red carpet,” she said. That meant upping the dazzle with skyward heels, brighter hues, and big sparkles.
Ms. Stewart designed two styles. Royalty blocks his style in his four-tone sexy sky-high platform with straps that cross at his heel and ankle and a sparkling sole ($399). and Premiere, a patent leather slingback ($349) with a pointy toe that comes in six colors and is suitable for daytime events.
The footbed technology used by Sole Bliss includes three layers of foam, hidden stretch panels, and a wide toe box. The company's founder, Lisa Kay, spent five years perfecting the design with podiatrists and testing it through market research. A veteran in the accessories industry, she launched Sole Bliss after she developed painful bunions and felt there were few options available to women who still wanted to wear heels.
“It's crazy to me that millions of women are relegated to traditional comfortable shoes with no fashionable alternatives,” she said. “Given the gap in the market and the number of people suffering from foot problems, we knew there would be a big demand.”
With the first lockdown of the pandemic (when the company also launched its sneaker line), Sole Bliss' customer base expanded far beyond those with corns, bunions and hammertoes, Kay said. . These shoes were favored by many celebrities and others who prioritize comfort over flashy brand names. Queen Camilla has worn the company's best-selling $299 solid, sensible style called Ingrid more than 80 times, and now even recommends it to fan Great British Bake Off star Dame Mary Berry. ing. .
Mirren wore a Pandora style on the opening night of this year's Cannes Film Festival, but after TV presenter Gayle King posted about the beaded style she wore to the film's premiere in July, The phone rang,” Kay said. Her young fans include Amanda Seyfried, Jodie Comer, and Rebel Wilson.
After hearing about Sole Bliss, this writer (who generally prefers to keep his feet flat on the floor) decided to test drive the ruby-style gold pair at a celebratory holiday party that lasted into the early hours of the morning. did.
The 3.5-inch heels are similar to Prada's signature chunky platform sandals, which sell for four times the price, but they were certainly comfortable. At 2 a.m., I didn't have the inevitable throbbing pain in the ball of my foot, nor did my toe pinch or heel hurt.
Ms. Stewart has no qualms about giving Saul Bliss more of a spotlight.
“There's nothing more testing for heels than a Hollywood awards show,” she said. “There are very few people who can wear the haute couture dresses you see on the red carpet, and this is an ordinary shoe brand designed for ordinary women. I want to be.”
