Jacques Soloviere. A name that rhymes with Trente Glorieuses and which we imagined to be that of a gentleman of a certain age, with old-school elegance and white hair. Nope. Behind the brand, we discover Alexia Aubert, a 41-year-old Parisian, with black hair and a thin face, who borrowed her grandfather's surname to launch her collection of men's shoes in 2014. “
I wanted a simple design , a shoe made from a single piece of leather that is neither a derby nor a moccasin but a product that stands out from the crowd, refined and easy to wear
, poses the founder from her hotel room in Japan, where her brand is a box.
For my first models, I therefore invented a particular construction, by creating a fold in the upper when you lace the shoe.
» Since then, the designer has developed other styles, such as these moccasins and these fishermen's sandals in woven raffia, which have just been released to mark the tenth anniversary of her small business.
From Maurice Arnoult to Pierre Hardy
As a teenager, the Frenchwoman was already emptying her piggy bank to treat herself to pointed-toe ballerinas from Marc Jacobs and heels from Alaïa. Although her father, at the helm of an advertising agency, and her mother, at home, are rather reserved about the idea of their daughter venturing into shoes, she is determined. “
I attended an applied arts school in Paris before training at the Lycée d'Alembert, known for training in all foot professions, from paramedical to shoemaking.
» Alexia Aubert discovered the anatomy of a shoe, its reinforcements, its arches and, in 2000, became an apprentice with Maurice Arnoult, one of the last master bootmakers in Belleville, who died in 2010 at the age of 102. “
He offered training in return for small services rendered by teaching us how to make a shoe using pre-war know-how. It took me a month to make just one pair!
» Three years later, she landed her first job at Christian Louboutin. Then, she joined the brand of Pierre Hardy, her idol. “
With him, I discovered the world of men’s shoes. After two years, I moved to Oscar de la Renta in New York, then started as a freelance consultant in Paris.
»
Jacques Solovière was born from his desire for “
new classic silhouettes
” made in Italy and Portugal with the aim of an affordable price between €225 and €400. “
I chose the name of Russian origin but Frenchified from my grandfather, who died 30 years ago. He was of great intelligence and elegance, always dressed in quality fabrics and sartorial style cuts. I now say his name every day!
» However, the forty-year-old does not confine herself to seniors in search of comfort and shoes elegant people aged 27 to 77 who go to her boutique on the left bank, at 108 rue du Cherche Midi (Paris 6th) open there ago just two years. “
My shoes are worn as much by the Japanese as by the French and the African-American community. In general, men who are conscious of their bodies and like to dress in a beautiful product rather than a logo.
» She even pushed them to their limits last year, with her Jacques leopard moccasin “which
the public loved! Many men draw for women because they project onto the opposite sex, regardless of their sexuality. I, on the other hand, create for men and I like to take them where they have never been.
»