Pura Lopez

Pura Lopez

The very talented shoe designer from Spain, Pura Lopez was born on September 29, 1962. She is the daughter of Antonio Lopez Moreno, a shoe manufacturer who founded his company which grew exponentially in 1964. The renowned designer has gained fame all over world for being the official designer for the Royal family of Spain and the Spanish Cinema.

Lopez studied interior design at the School of Applied Arts and Creative Careers of Alicante. She relocated to Valencia in 1981 where she studied fashion design at the School of Arts and Design of Barriera.  In the summer of 1984, Lopez went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York to attend a specialized course on clothing fashion design. The next year, she flew over to Milan in order to study footwear design and construction at Ars Sutoria School. With deep knowledge on everything related to shoes from shoe production to design concepts and shoe construction, Pura joined the family business of shoe making in 1986 and started working in the design, development and production department for two collections called Academia and Josephine.

After she joined the family business, the family started a new brand of ladies footwear in 1987. The Pura Lopez brand was designed for the strong, fashion oriented woman. Today, Lopez is incharge of the Design Department while her brother Antonio is the CEO. The reason why Pura Lopez shoes are different from the rest is because they come in a variety of pastel shades depending on the different seasons. The Pura Lopez brand stands tall and has become the basis of the family business Dalph International’s survival today. Pura designs two collections every year keeping in mind the different fashion concepts. Each collection may have up to 200 different designs. All Pura Lopez shoes are manufactured in the family owned factories situated in Elche. The designer is known for using traditional as well as modern techniques to design shoes using only pure Italian leather. She also uses a lot of crust ‘nappa’ and textures and applies the vintage effect from time to time.

Pura’s biggest victory was when her shoes were showcased on the runway by designers like Juanjo Oliva, Cibeles y Gaudi, Andres Sarda and Guillermina Baeza. She has taken regular part in the Madrid Fashion Week in collaboration with many reputable fashion houses like La Perla, Joaquim Verdu, Devota & Lomba and Roberto Verino. Lopez also had a chance to represent Spain’s shoe industry at the Lisbon World Expo in 1998. Normally working with haute couture, her shoes have been in the limelight time and again when European Monarchs like Princess Letizia of Spain, Mary Donaldson and Denmark’s Crown Princess are seen sporting Pura Lopez shoes. However, it was her time to shine when the phenomenal shoe designer’s creation was worn by Princess Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano on her wedding day on 22nd May, 2004.

Pura won the Fuenso International Shoe Award in 2009 for creating remarkable designs throughout her career. She was also named the Best Businesswoman of the Year in 2012 by the Association of Businessmen, Professionals and Managers. Her shop also opened in Milan in February 2012. Currently, Pura Lopez shoes are sold in over thousand outlets worldwide along with her self owned stores in Paris and Rome. The 350 a pop shoes are admired by celebs like Kim Kardashian, Kylie Minogue, Isabella Fuhrman and Penelope Cruz.