If you want your ballet pumps to come with real authenticity and more than a smidgen of Parisian chic about them then Repetto is the original and the best. The brand was founded in 1947 when Rose Repetto opened her dancing shoe workshop at 22 Rue de la Paix, Paris, supplying the highest quality dance and ballet shoe to the most famous dancers in the city.
Brigitte Bardot wearing Repetto
To this day that address is still a mecca for dance professionals. The jeté into fashion came in 1957 when Madame Repetto made a ballet pump especially for Brigitte Bardot and a phenomenon was born; one part high quality dancing shoe the other a fashion essential coveted the world over. Fashion houses like Chanel, Lanvin and Comme des Garcons have commissioned Repetto to create unique catwalk designs further bolstering the brands fashion kudos.
The Repetto workshop process
Today,whether a ballerina or dance floor failure be, Repetto is a go-to for cool flats and they still make their vastly expanded collection using the same method – the ‘stitched and returned’ technique. This means the shoe is hand-stitched inside out and then ‘returned’ the right way, turning the left shoe into the right and vice versa. This gives the softness and comfort that Repetto became famous for. We are pleased to welcome the collection online now at matchesfashion.com – now excuse us while we pirouette off stage left.
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