Blogs: On Your Market / Designers / Fashion

When packing for Las Vegas, here’s a tip from over the years: Leave room for shoes.

As one of the most necessary accessories (aside from jewelry, of course), shoes can quite possibly make or break an experience. Comfort is key, but style will have you feeling good too.

How thoughtful of designer Matthew “Mateo” Harris to offer both.

The founder of the eponymous Mateo jewelry brand, Harris has been selected by Macy’s to create an exclusive shoe collection with INC International Concepts. He is one of six designers selected by Macy’s for its Icons of Style collaboration with Black visionaries, as the department store works to move the fashion world forward. His collection includes shoes in several styles, as well as two handbags.

Could a collection of bejeweled accessories be any more timely? To get your kicks by wearing ones styled by a jeweler (and to support an independent designer) is a no-brainer. The only hard part is selecting which ones (though, at such a friendly price point, maybe there’s no need to choose!).

Along with some of Harris’ signature jewelry elements—a crescent moon, pearls, a rainbow tennis necklace—incorporated into the collection are pops of green and yellow, a nod to the designer’s Jamaican heritage.

“The process is quite similar to jewelry-designing,” says Harris, when asked how designing shoes compares to creating jewelry. “I always start with a sketch, which I find is the start of magic. I love how a raw sketch can become something so refined and precious. Each shoe I designed took its inspiration from my fine jewelry collection. I took our rainbow tennis necklace and made the most chic slippers. Our crescent moon earrings became statements on luxurious slingback pumps. It was just so much fun seeing how fine jewelry translated into footwear.”

If you really have to choose just one pair of shoes? “Well, we have been locked up for so long, I recommend the fuchsia Victoria slingback pumps to spice up your look to walk around the shows,” says Harris. “And I must say, they are mighty comfy.”

Top: Matthew “Mateo” Harris showcases the line of shoes and handbags designed in collaboration with INC International Concepts for Macy’s. (Photo courtesy of Mateo)

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