Who is María Perón?

She is the woman in all of us. Women love beautiful things. They particularly love beautiful shoes. An intelligent, discerning woman goes one step further. She loves beautiful shoes that she can actually walk in.  

The María Perón who designed these shoes is a classical pianist, who has always been susceptible to art and beauty in all its forms. At the age of four she saw a production of Swan Lake and was entranced by the stunning costumes, but most of all by the ravishing ballet shoes the ballerinas wore. With their enticing ribbons, they seemed the very embodiment of enchantment, as did the colourful shoes and boots worn by the girls who danced the character roles. Ballet classes followed, and María’s love for her ballet slippers was only eclipsed when her mother gave her a pair of red, patent leather shoes for her sixth birthday.

Now in her forties, María Perón still loves shoes, but often feels frustrated that she can’t find what she wants in the shops. She has her own style and likes shoes that are beautiful and comfortable. Just when she wants a pair of high-heeled, round-toed pumps they are impossible to find because Fashion, that inexorable dictator, has decided square-toed shoes or massive platforms are the thing. Never mind that they are ugly and make any woman walk like a duck.

In 2014, Maria decided to design her own line of shoes, aimed at women like herself – women with style, who own their fashion sense. She was determined to develop a range of classical designs that would always be available to the discerning woman.

The design process, assisted by experts in Elche, Spain’s premiere shoe industry region, was uncompromising. The shoes had to be beautiful, distinctive, yet comfortable. Each shoe has a perfectly balanced heel, and cushioning in the toe means its wearer can stand in it all day. Each shoe is lovingly crafted in Spain.

María chose a swan as her symbol. It seemed an appropriate acknowledgment to that inspiring production she saw as a child. Now any woman can step into a pair of María Perón shoes and instantly become a swan. It’s a fairy tale come true. 

Photographs by Marcus Struzina