David Assil has teamed up with jewelry designer Joan Hornig who’s high-end, unique and “locked” in for a good cause.
“It was my idea,” Assil, who owns Beverly Hills fashion boutique Madison Maison and has 34 years of experience in the industry, told Footwear News exclusively of the idea for the partnership. “She’s just amazing.”
The collection consists of two types of loafers, two types of boots and one pair of high heels. Each shoe is adorned with a lock silver or gold charm designed by Hornig, who donates 100 percent of her sales’ profits from each item sold in the collaboration to the 501(c)(3) of the purchaser’s choice through the Joan B. Hornig Foundation. The collection also features handbags.
“I saw the lock and in 10 minutes explained to her what my idea was and she was in!” says Assil. “It means a lot to partner with Joan.”
Assil used, “the best, small, multi-generation owned Italian factories and tanneries,” to bring his shoes to life.
About the Shoes
The Madison Maison x Joan Hornig x Mara Bini loafers offer a flat and a 50-block heel version. Each loafer comes in 7 different colors such as black, cognac, teal, hunter, green, light pink and white and retail for $595. The lock charm on the loafer is adorned on top of the middle of the shoe and the toe box is oval shaped.
The Madison Maison x Joan Hornig x Mara Bini tall boots have a low blocked wooden heel and a tan colored sole. It has a gold charm on the outside of the circular-toed boot which comes in black, brown and white. A golden locked bracket goes across the entire top of the toe area and retails for $1095.
The Madison Maison x Joan Hornig x Fratelli Russo heel comes in silver, gold, navy, red and black. The pointed-toe, shiny shoe has a thin stiletto. Customers have the option to purchase the shoe with a 50MM or a 75MM heel and retail for $495.
The last shoe in the collection, the Madison Maison x Joan Hornig x King Tartufoli are a heavier boot. They are hand stained with metallic rubber at the end. The round-toed, block wooded heel has a gold charm on outside in the cognac version and a silver charm on the black version. They retail for $1095.
About the Designer
Assil launched Madison in 1989 with its store opening in the heart of Beverly Hills on Brighton Way in 1990. Madison was voted one of the world’s best boutiques by Vogue and Footwear News. All of their designs are made in Italy and are 100% designed in-house.
When deciding how to plan the aesthetics for the collection, Assil says it was a seamless meeting of the minds that didn’t take up too much of the designers’ time. “As for styles and colors, I took about 2-3 days to decide what’s best to put the locks on,” Assil, who also owns Sola Showroom in New York City, said. “I chose the colors and shared with Joan and she loved it all.”
