Mangará

Brazilian Craftsmanship, Sent Out From Brussels.

There is a particular sort of shoe that photographs beautifully and then spends the summer at the back of the wardrobe having a quiet think about what it has done. This is the other sort. Patricia Cossettin spent twenty years in fashion, product design and international trade across Brazil, China and Europe before settling in Belgium and deciding to put the two halves of her working life together: design here, make there, and build the whole thing around the radical proposition that a woman might like to wear the same pair from lunch until rather late in the evening and still be on speaking terms with her feet.

Every pair is cut and assembled in Brazil by artisans the atelier works with directly, in leather it sources itself rather than buying in by the container. The construction is where the money goes: soft linings, a balanced heel that puts you where you want to be, and a sole with enough give to take a cobbled street in its stride. The palette comes straight off a Brazilian afternoon, all warm naturals and the occasional sharp green, with woven raffia turning up where a plain strap would have been the safer choice. The range runs from sandals through pumps and ankle boots to a very wearable sneaker, so it covers the whole year rather than just the fortnight you are away.

The atelier pays attention to the unglamorous end of things too: fair pay in the factories it works with, cutting patterns efficiently to make the most of every hide, and packaging that can be recycled once your shoes are out of it. Brazil has been making very good shoes for a very long time, and this is what happens when someone bothers to bring the proper ones over.

For more to wear, have a browse of our women's footwear and women's fashion collections, or carry on to beach and swim, gifts for her and the full womenswear edit. There are more businesses like this one in women-led brands, and more from the Continent in our European brands collection.