Entrepreneur Nanna Liv sparked a stiletto revolution in 2014 when she founded Sargossa, a brand of sexy shoes which promise the ultimate in comfort and support from an innovative layered insole
When designing and developing her product, Nanna Liv’s mission was to create a range of shoes in quality leather that women could wear all day, but still look smart and chic without carrying a spare pair of heels in their handbag or resorting to insoles to ease the pain. The solution was to look at a way of redistributing the weight of the foot when wearing heels to ensure a more even distribution.
“Shoe lovers have traditionally had to choose between shoes that look good and shoes that are comfortable, but Sargossa bridges this gap without sacrificing comfort or style,” says the entrepreneur. Her design process began with studying the anatomy of feet, and armed with extensive research into the perfect position, width and even ideal platform height for keeping feet perfectly aligned, she started to design her first collection and create beautiful, sexy, functional stilettos.
“With traditional heels, 90% of the weight is pushed to the ball of the foot. I developed a last for Sargossa shoes which redistributes the weight so that the figure is more 37-57%, so they are much more comfortable to wear. My aim is to make shoes that you can wear regardless of the demands of your schedule,” Nanna Liv explains.
Empowering women is at the heart of the Sargossa brand, with Nanna Liv having been diagnosed and overcoming a serious heart condition at a young age. “When you feel that your life might be taken away from you, you have a new determination and energy.” Nanna has channeled this spirit into her heels, fittingly adding affirmations and positive notes to the soles of her shoes. The notes on each style are different. For example: “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” and “Take chances or else things will never change.”
“I’m proud to call myself a feminist. Women should not be compromised by their shoes, they should be empowered by them,” says Nanna. “Sargossa shoes have been engineered for busy lifestyles and professional women but they are also sexy, beautiful heels which have been designed with passion and crafted in luxury fabrics.” Fusing high quality with high design, Sargossa is designed in Britain, with boutiques like Ruby Tuesday in Bridge of Allan leading the way with stocking the shoes in Scotland, and prices ranging from £165 to £365.