The curved heel and slouchy suede of her knee-high Babs boot, on the other hand, leans a bit more ’80s—
ditto the white faux-croc Kati boots with a similar low heel. Then there’s the higher, vampier Mel, which has
a flattering V-cut and looks particularly cool styled with a prairie skirt on Labucq’s website.
“For me, it was really about looking at the end use of a product and identifying what I feel women need in
their wardrobes,”
Bucquet says. “I always knew I wanted to
have these core essentials, but [I also]
wanted to make sure they had some style
perspective and thoughtful details that make
the shoes different from everything else out
there. I think a lot of companies are making
these huge promises about a better price-to-
quality ratio, but I look at them up close and
they really aren’t living up to the promise. I
knew I could make better products at a great
price.”
Comfort was a major focus for Bucquet,
which may not register as a huge surprise
given her history at Rag & Bone and the fact
that she’s a working mother in Los Angeles.
“Wearing a shoe that’s uncomfortable can
totally ruin your day,” she says. “It clouds
your head, and I feel like I can’t breathe
properly. It’s one thing to
make a shoe that looks nice, but
it’s a completely different thing to
build the architecture so it’s
actually comfortable enough to
wear all day. It really comes down
to knowing the right people [and
factories], using the right
materials, and checking off certain
boxes along the way.” She likely
knows more about the actual
construction of a shoe than many
footwear designers: In her early
days at Rag & Bone, Bucquet
traveled to Italy, China,
and Portugal to work in the factories and learn directly from the shoemakers. “Seeing how things were
actually put together not only made me a smarter designer, it taught me about the business side, too,”
Bucquet explains. “The experience was invaluable from a production and business standpoint. I was very
lucky to [join the company] in the early days—I saw it grow from three people to 350.”
Labucq is available online starting today, and Bucquet is already working on collection number two: a range
of “super walkable” heeled sandals in Italian vachetta leather and python-embossed kid for Spring 2019. For
now, get a head start on boot season and shop the current selection at labucq.com.
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