The Secret Weapon of Celebrity Stylists? Comfortable Shoes.

Helen Mirren declared herself to be “in love with them,” and Gabrielle Union stated that “they is perhaps probably the most snug footwear I’ve ever worn in my life.” Julia Roberts, Viola Davis and Drew Barrymore have worn them to Hollywood premieres. Queen Camilla owns 13 pairs and wears them at virtually all of her public engagements.

Sole Bliss, which started in 2017 making footwear for style-conscious girls troubled by bunions and different foot situations, will not be a model that conspicuously screams pink carpet glamour. However lately the small British label has attracted a fan base amongst celebrities and royalty who’re turning to its footwear for high-profile occasions that require them to be on their toes for hours on finish.

Now, as awards season revs up — the Golden Globes air on Jan. 7 — Sole Bliss has taken an enormous step into new territory: collaborations. Its first is with Elizabeth Stewart, a longtime stylist for Ms. Roberts, Cate Blanchett and Jessica Chastain, amongst different Hollywood heavyweights. Ms. Stewart began providing the footwear in fittings as an experiment after coming throughout them on-line in 2020.

“A few of my purchasers are ready to endure for magnificence, some aren’t,” Ms. Stewart stated. “However once I began providing Sole Bliss as an possibility, it was notable what number of have been coming again and saying they actually labored for them and that they have been very snug.”

The footwear at the moment are a key software in Ms. Stewart’s software equipment. “It made sense to place my very own stamp on among the designs I used to be utilizing probably the most and make them red-carpet prepared,” she stated. Which meant elevating the razzle-dazzle with skyward heels, brighter shades and main sparkles.

Ms. Stewart designed two types: Royalty, an attractive sky-high platform type in 4 colours with a block heel and straps that cross on the ankle and a glittering sole ($399); and Premiere, a patent leather-based sling-back with a pointed toe that is available in six colours and is extra suited to daytime occasions ($349).

The footbed know-how Sole Bliss employs entails three layers of froth, hidden stretch panels and broad toe bins. Lisa Kay, the corporate’s founder, spent 5 years perfecting the design with podiatrists and testing it by way of market analysis. A veteran of the leather-based equipment trade, she began Sole Bliss after creating a painful bunion and discovering few choices accessible for girls who nonetheless needed to put on heels.

“It was insanity to me that thousands and thousands of girls have been being relegated to conventional consolation footwear with no modern options,” she stated. “I felt assured that there could be large demand given the hole available in the market and the way many individuals endure from foot issues.”

With the primary lockdowns of the pandemic (when the corporate additionally began a line of sneakers), the Sole Bliss buyer base expanded effectively past these with corns, bunions and hammer toes, Ms. Kay stated. The footwear have been embraced by those that prioritized consolation over glitzy model names, together with many celebrities. Queen Camilla has worn a strong and smart type referred to as the Ingrid, which prices $299 and is the corporate’s best-seller, greater than 80 occasions and even really helpful them to “The Nice British Bake Off” star Dame Mary Berry, who’s now a devotee.

Ms. Mirren wore the Pandora type for the opening evening of the Cannes Movie Pageant this 12 months, and after Gayle King, the tv host, posted in regards to the Rubys type she wore to a movie premiere in July, “the telephone rang off the hook,” Ms. Kay stated. Youthful followers embrace Amanda Seyfried, Jodie Comer and Insurgent Wilson.

After listening to about Sole Bliss this author (who usually prefers her toes flat to the ground) was ready to test-drive a gold pair of the Ruby type at a festive vacation get together that went into the early hours.

The three.5-inch heels, which have a passing resemblance to Prada’s signature chunky platform sandals that promote for 4 occasions the value, have been certainly snug. At 2 a.m., there was not one of the inevitable throbbing ache within the balls of the toes, no pinched toes or aching heels.

Ms. Stewart has no qualms about bringing Sole Bliss extra totally into the highlight.

“There is no such thing as a better take a look at of a excessive heel than a Hollywood awards ceremony,” she stated. “Only a few individuals get to put on the couture robes seen on the pink carpet, and that is an extraordinary model with footwear designed for normal girls. I wish to be the choice maker who will get to place them collectively when the eyes of the world are watching.”