How Larroudé Rocketed to Stardom and Landed the FNAA 2024 Brand of the Year Award
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On Dec. 4, Larroudé will be honored with the Brand of the Year award at the 38th annual FN Achievement Awards. Below is an article from the magazine’s Dec. 2 print issue about the success of the women’s footwear brand.
Larroudé shoes are in high demand. Kerry Washington has taken a pair to Jamaica. Blue
Ivy Carter modeled them at the Grammys. Salma Hayek — when she’s not stepping out in Gucci
platforms — has worn them. And Awkwafina can run in them. It’s no wonder that the luxury women’s footwear brand founded by husband-and-wife team Marina and Ricardo Larroudé, who respectively serve as chief creative officer and chief executive officer, is a 2024 FNAA Brand of the Year winner.
Launched in 2020 amid the uncertainty of the pandemic, Larroudé racked up $30 million in annual sales last year, and is on track to double that number in 2024. Last year, the brand expanded with a new factory in the couple’s native Brazil and in June transitioned to an efficient direct-to-demand strategy —all while continuing to create highly sought-after collections and collaborations.
For Ricardo, their accomplishments are thanks to “a combination of a bunch of small things that we did that allowed us to create the business this way.” He added that one of the best early lessons was the
importance of in-house production. “And we quickly learned how important it was for us to do our own advertising. We’re vertically integrated.”
Reflecting on what they might have done differently along their journey, he stressed again the need for a vertical model. “The business is more complex than people see from the outside, and I would have focused more on going straight to the consumer instead of still trying to distribute through the existing channels,” he said. “I think that the existing distribution channels for footwear are broken.”
With a collection that includes pumps, mules, boots, Mary Jane flats and sandals, Larroudé offers inventive takes on tried and-true silhouettes. When it comes to the design, Marina said it’s “always about the woman — where is she going, what she wants and what does she need at that time of the year.”
A veteran of the fashion industry, Marina said that Larroudé doesn’t dwell in passing trends, but focuses on practical, chic and enduring styles that can appeal to multiple demographics and be useful in a range of situations.
The brand’s partners trace its success directly to Marina’s talent. “Marina has a strong eye for design,” said Jenny Freshwater, vice president of Amazon Fashion, fitness and creators. “Larroudé has quickly become a customer favorite, standing out for its designer collaborations, high-quality design, and overall breadth of selection.”
Marissa Galante Frank, fashion director of accessories and beauty at Bloomingdale’s, added, “I have always admired [Marina’s] style, grace and how open-minded she is. She is always searching for what is next, but never neglects the classics. Marina is someone I have looked up to my entire career for many reasons, including the fact that she truly understands the balance of art and science in the fashion business.”
Larroudé’s ascent can also be attributed to its well-thought-out collaborations with other companies and individuals, including Altuzarra, Markarian, artist Gabriela Noelle and Saudi Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz, among others.
Ricardo, who draws inspiration from music production, calls himself a “fashion producer” who can bring the right people together to create lighting in a bottle — like The Beatles, or Dua Lipa and Elton John updating “Rocket Man,” for example. Then he said, the next step is take that product and “distribute the hell out of it” to earn a platinum record.
Marina elaborated, “We are now calling it, let’s say, residency, because we can have an ongoing collection for Markarian. It’s no longer one drop here and there — and the same thing with Altuzarra, or the same thing with Jonathan Cohen. We are launching new footwear brands within the Larroudé umbrella. And that’s where we see the business evolving. We hope to have 10, 12 brands under the fold by the end of 2025.”
Beyond producing footwear, the couple is passionate about supporting their employees and uplifting the local community in Brazil. They offer English classes to staff and their dependents, as well as shoe manufacturing classes and health insurance that has helped employees’ family members get heart surgeries, cancer treatment and more vital medical care. Running what they describe as a “meritocratic” brand, they also facilitate upward mobility and provide stock in the company as a reward to dedicated workers.
Raising a “third child” (a new company) with your spouse comes with its own set of challenges, said the couple — like when Ricardo brings up work when Marina just wants to watch CNN — but they are both deeply invested in improving this joint venture. Marina said, “He’s like the toughest boss I’ve ever had. Because he knows me so well, he knows how [far] he can push me, which I think is a great form of love. There’s no one I trust more than I trust him.”
For 38 years, the annual FN Achievement Awards — often called the “Shoe Oscars” — have celebrated the style stars, best brand stories, ardent philanthropists, emerging talents and industry veterans. The 2024 event is supported by sponsors Listrak, Marc Fisher, Nordstrom and Vibram.
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