Nothing scandalous or naughty, just a simple love affair with a shoe which, like so many things Spanish, seemed a perfect marriage of style and function — the espadrille. Having achieved a level of success as a reseller of all things Hermès (a rather unusual career that is detailed in his memoir Bringing Home the Birkin), Michael Tonello began his quest for the ultimate espadrille. Inspired by years of designer scarf collecting, he came up with the idea to repurpose his iconic scarves into beautiful espadrilles. After partnering with artist, graphic designer, and branding expert Chris Bartick, they managed to find the very best team of multigenerational craftspeople in Spain, also known as the birthplace of espadrilles. Their initial launch was very well received because people learned that every pair is handcrafted and every pair is one-of-a-kind. The positive response to the classic espadrilles led our team to develop additional product categories that could be “respoked” with iconic designer silk. All Respoke products are unique because they are produced from different sections of the scarf. Each piece carries more value and self-identity than their original form. In the Respoke arena, the whole is exponentially greater than the sum of its parts.
