If the Shoe Fits
A footwear obsession becomes a profession.
- Photo by Kathleen Dooher.
Kristina Kozak loves her Louboutins. She’s enamored with sky-high Manolos, strappy Choos, and bejeweled Dries pumps. Indeed, designer heels, flats, slides, and boots—she owns more than 100 pairs—took over her South Shore closet long ago. Yet despite an enviable collection (and an ever diminishing savings account), she was never able to satisfy her lifelong shoe fetish. Until now.
This fall the spunky 32-year-old Pembroke native debuts her line of 10 handcrafted, high-style shoes. Each pair is made by Kozak herself, using materials like python and supersoft leather, and skills honed under a master cobbler in New York City. Fashions range from a 4.5-inch ivory peep-toe heel to a slouchy black ankle boot. “I use strong colors, patterns, and lots of quirky details like bows, fur, and crystals,” Kozak says. “They’re fabulous, fun shoes that set you apart from the crowd.”
It all started with a pair of gold, mink, and ribbon Mary Janes. Kozak sketched them at the end of her seven-year stint with State Street Bank, but it wasn’t until she took a sales job at fashion fortress Louis Boston that she got serious. Early reactions were mixed (“Some people were like, ‘What is that?’”), but her coworkers encouraged her to continue. Inspired by Louis matron Debi Greenberg’s style, old Hollywood glamour, and fashion icons like Sarah Jessica Parker, Kozak began designing full-time last March.
Her new fall line, which ranges from $275 for a leather sandal to $550 for a python heel, caught the eye of Stel’s boutique co-owner Tina Burgos, who agreed to host Kozak’s first trunk show (9/9–9/10). Early buzz suggests a big success: Kozak is already swamped with orders and has plans to expand her collection. She might one day join the hallowed ranks of the designers whose work fills her closet, but no matter what, she says, “my shoes will never be machine-made.”
>> Kristina Kozak, 617-791-2993, kristinakozak.com; Stel’s, 334 Newbury St., Boston, 617-262-3348, stelsinc.com.
This fall the spunky 32-year-old Pembroke native debuts her line of 10 handcrafted, high-style shoes. Each pair is made by Kozak herself, using materials like python and supersoft leather, and skills honed under a master cobbler in New York City. Fashions range from a 4.5-inch ivory peep-toe heel to a slouchy black ankle boot. “I use strong colors, patterns, and lots of quirky details like bows, fur, and crystals,” Kozak says. “They’re fabulous, fun shoes that set you apart from the crowd.”
It all started with a pair of gold, mink, and ribbon Mary Janes. Kozak sketched them at the end of her seven-year stint with State Street Bank, but it wasn’t until she took a sales job at fashion fortress Louis Boston that she got serious. Early reactions were mixed (“Some people were like, ‘What is that?’”), but her coworkers encouraged her to continue. Inspired by Louis matron Debi Greenberg’s style, old Hollywood glamour, and fashion icons like Sarah Jessica Parker, Kozak began designing full-time last March.
Her new fall line, which ranges from $275 for a leather sandal to $550 for a python heel, caught the eye of Stel’s boutique co-owner Tina Burgos, who agreed to host Kozak’s first trunk show (9/9–9/10). Early buzz suggests a big success: Kozak is already swamped with orders and has plans to expand her collection. She might one day join the hallowed ranks of the designers whose work fills her closet, but no matter what, she says, “my shoes will never be machine-made.”
>> Kristina Kozak, 617-791-2993, kristinakozak.com; Stel’s, 334 Newbury St., Boston, 617-262-3348, stelsinc.com.
Originally published in Boston magazine, September 2006
