Focus on the Shoe Brand Repetto

Focus on the brand: Repetto

Some say that Repetto is THE original ballet shoes company. In a sense, it was. Created in 1947 by Rose Repetto, at the request of her son dancer and choreographer Roland Petit, Repetto claims to have served customers such as Bejart, Noureyev, Caroline Carlson, Eric Vuan and Kirov. The store is Pointe Shoe on Rue de la Paix near the Opera Garnier in Paris.

The simple, elegant styling of its shoes have, however, quickly made their way into fashion, and many a celebrated designers used their ballet slippers, adapting them for the urban grind (Kenzo, Issey Miyake, Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons come to mind).

From what was essentially a small niche business, the company expanded to be an international label. Jean-Marc Gaucher, who took over the company in 1999, has had very ambitious, and so far very successful plans to uniquely position their product in the world of luxury goods. Gaucher, a former managing director of Reebok France, called in designers from New York and Paris to design the 120 models produced annually by the Repetto factory in the western Dordogne.

A lot of care goes into the making of the shoe; a classic ballet flat will take about 22 minutes to make. The main feature of Repetto shoes is the way the leather sole is sown to the shoe from the inside first before being turned the right way around. Today, the Opera National de Paris, the Opera de Lyon, the Ballet School of Marseille and even Hillary Clinton are claimed as customers.

You can find Repetto shoes just about everywhere you look right now. And don’t think their inventory is reduced to ballet flats! They also feature some heels and boots as well. Let’s take a look, shall we?