Do tell!! When and how is Maison Mangostan created?
Maison Mangostan was born from our love for footwear. Our family is intertwined in the artisanal shoemaking business and we are the third generation of shoe enthusiasts, having worked in this industry for most of our career. After having worked for well-known fashion and design related brands, my wife – Carmen – and I started feeling the need to invest our creativity on our own project, with a unique take on quality, innovation and sustainability.
What does the name Maison Mangostan mean? Where does it come from? It sounds so cool!
The name ‘Maison Mangostan’ came up whilst on a trip to Bali. It playfully combines the words ‘Maison’, which has a serious connection related to the traditional french fashion houses, with the french word for ‘Mangosteen’. We decided to include the idea of a Mangosteen as it represents what our brand stands for – exotic, bittersweet and surprising on the inside.
What are the most important things about the shoes?
We mostly value comfort and design – reclaiming shoemaking traditions and combining these with high quality materials, innovative concepts and new technology. We have always been captivated by the attention given to detail by renown mens’ shoe brands; from inner soles and linings to the choice of materials and even customisation… We never understood why this wasn’t the case with most kids’ shoes, specially knowing that children need to take extra good care of their feet.
Where do you find your inspiration for the new collections?
Inspiration comes easy in a kids’ world. We find it everywhere: movies, music, culture, art… Every time we need to work on a new collection we ask ourselves the same question: “What sort of adventure would we love going on if we were 7 or 8 years old?”
From there, coming up with a limitless cocktail of influences and ideas is always easier. We love the concept of mixing different ideas and respectfully bringing some cultural references of less talked-about places to the table. Making up new places is also always fun.
Did you ever thought Maison Mangostan would be so successful, so soon?
We don’t think of ourselves of being successful just yet. We’ve been very well accepted in the market but still feel like there is a long way to go, as we just started our brand. However, our aim is not to be famous – our main objective is making moms, dads and kids happy with our products. We love receiving great feedback and our greatest success lives in a child’s smile when he or she interacts with our shoes.
Last but not least, what are the new ideas / plans for future? We are so curious!
Plans and ideas are two things we are not lacking in. Although we have just launched, we are proud to say that we have many surprises up our sleeves, and some of them you’ll be able to see integrated into our SS17 collection.
