Shoes, shoes and more shoes — except this time each shoe is two in one: a heel and a flat.
Cal Poly startup Pashion Footwear shipped their first pre-sale line of convertible heels to customers on Jan. 14. These first 180 pairs of shoes were shipped to 155 customers all over the world, including those in the U.S., Canada and Switzerland.
“They were air shipped over here,” Pashion Footwear Founder, President and CEO Haley Pavone said. “Usually shoes would be cargo shipped on a boat, but we were like, ‘We’re so excited to get them here. Let’s do it even faster — put them on a plane.’”
Along with their new launch, the company was also selected to be one of the 20 featured brands at one of the Grammy Awards 2019 pre-parties this past weekend. Their shoes were included in the gift bags for guests attending the party.
“We are really excited,” Pavone said. “Any of the A-list celebrities that are in attendance that want to take a pair home with them will be welcome to do so.”
The team spent the past two and a half years developing, engineering and testing a convertible heel to launch. There are currently three styles available for the spring collection (Pashionista, THE Boss and Goddess) that can be converted from a heel to a flat.
“So one of our main goals for this shipment was to just confirm that people like the product and that the shoe is done,” Pavone said. “Obviously as an entrepreneur, I feel very close to this product, and I always think it could be better. I’m always kind of chasing perfection with it.”
Each pair of shoes costs $180, but there is currently a waitlist to get a pair due to a limited production run.
“For what it is right now, like in its earlier stages, I think it’s a little too expensive just because it’s not perfect yet, I don’t think,” English junior Emma Roellig said. “So I think they might have to lower the price a little.”
Currently, Pashion Footwear is partnering with ELEETS Logistics to store and transport their shoes, but Pavone said they hope customers will be able to order the shoes directly from their website sometime in Spring 2019.
“When I first got them they were in the packaging with the heel a lot, so it was kind of hard to get used to it and break it in, but once you have them broken in and get used to walking around in them it’s completely fine,” kinesiology sophomore Ally Schasteen said.
Pashion Footwear is placing an order in a few weeks for 1,500 units, which will be distributed to retail stores and shipped to customers currently on their waitlist.
“So as we continue to grow, we want to expand the line both in shoes and additional heel kits, and that way our customers will be able to kind of create the perfect shoe for them and also create a shoe that has eight different looks associated with it, or however many heels they want to buy,” Pavone said.