What do you do when soon after you launch a shoe line you’ve spent your life preparing to create, a pandemic descends, and life as we know it is altered? If you are Betsy Gonzalez the Founder & Creative Director of the luxury brand, Mia Becar, you innovate. The Latina designer takes a breath, and you get the feeling that there may be a lot of unsaid challenges that she had to overcome before she shares her solution. “We went directly to the consumer.” It turned into an unseen benefit, because “we wanted to not only be able to provide a pair of shoes directly to our customers, but also to be able to understand who they were.” Catering to specific needs rather than churning out prescribed product allowed the company to adapt. “We’re the designers, we’re also logistics, we deal with customer service.” She concedes. “It was harder, but I think that it has made a huge difference for us to be able to have that direct relationship.” “They say obstacles make you stronger. They truly do.”

One has to wonder what secrets one discovers when you get direct feedback from the people wearing your shoes. Her response will produce a cheer from every woman who has teetered in an uncomfortable heel. “Firstly, I’m a woman designing for women.” Notes the Betsy, who fell in love with shoe design when visiting a friend whose father was a shoemaker in Mexico.

“I remember the smell of leather and glue while watching him work, ensuring comfort and durability for his customers who worked in the fields all day on rugged terrain.” That powerful memory continues to influence Betsy.

“It starts at the beginning with the design process, even before the input from the client. Being able to work with our pattern makers and understand the pitch, where the strap is going to hit the foot, maybe we can add a little more cushion.” “The design process is truly important. As a woman, I understand. I’m in heels every day, so I want them to be comfortable. Everyone has a different foot.” “The customer feedback resulted in providing variations of heels even within the same style, that was really important for us to understand and offer. Customers want a certain shoe at a certain time, which is why we offer same-day delivery for LA and NYC upon request.”

“When we first launched, there were lots of high heels.” She acknowledges, and if you think about what you’ve spent your days doing the last two years as we’ve adapted to the pandemic you have to ask: How many times have you needed a heel? Her lips curve. “During the pandemic of course, we were all sometimes without shoes. At home, I love to be barefoot. I think it took a little bit of time to get back to heels, but I think it’s one of many choices. I think women still love it if they’re able to wear heels to an event; it just makes you feel a little different, but there are amazing flats that do the same. It just depends on the event or how you feel most comfortable.

Inspiration

Inspired by the little markets outside Guadalajara that stoked her love for anything handmade and handcrafted, Ms. Gonzalez incorporates the culture and concepts of her youth in her products. On her ‘Salma’ collection she worked with the indigenous female artisans of the Wixárica community: “They do these beautiful hand-beaded flowers. I included them because I wanted to also showcase the beautiful art that’s being made in Mexico.”

Betsy Gonzalez talks in Spanish about sustainability and Mexican artisanship.

Sustainability is the watchword right now and Betsy Gonzalez agrees. “You can’t be a part of the fashion industry and not think about sustainability. I think of it as a responsibility and we are taking steps to produce as responsibly as possible.  We use leather from the food industry and do not use exotics. When we can integrate sustainable practices into our product, we do – as in our recent sneaker that has a recycled rubber sole. We recently reviewed all our packaging and moving forward our new boxes are FSC-certified, and our tissue paper is recycled.”

Special inspirational messages adorn the tissue paper in which the shoes are nestled.

Does the woman who studied bespoke shoe making in New York at The Cobblettes and the prestigious Arsutoria School in Milan, Italy, foresee a move away from leather in the industry?  She considers. “While I can’t speak for the industry, I can say that we are constantly doing research on new materials and having important conversations with our vendors. I do believe that the community as a whole is thinking about responsibility. It’s a work in progress and we are always open to innovation. What I will also say is that I believe sustainability is also about longevity – and a well-made leather shoe lasts a very long time.”

The fun side is seeing celebrities wearing her shoes on the red carpet or in photo spreads. “Even if you see a woman on the street in your design…, it just feels like, “Oh my God, they chose our shoes to wear.” And there’s been a lot of amazing, incredible women that have chosen to wear our shoes. The partial list includes Hailey Bieber, Julianna Marguiles, Katheryn Hahn, Thuso Mbedu and Anne Hathaway.