S05 Episode 233 | Katherine Theobalds of Zou Xou on sensible shoes and resisting mindless consumption & markdowns

In episode 233, Kestrel welcomes Katherine Theobalds, the founder and creative director at Zou Xou, to the show. A slow fashion footwear brand, Zou Xou shoes are made in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

“I like using the word sensible to describe our shoes because it kind of challenges the common assumption of what sensible shoes mean. I don’t mean that they’re boring, I don’t mean that they’re not exciting, and I don’t mean that they can’t express your style. To me, the sensibility aspect of it speaks to the practicality of it and how often you’re using it, and the versatility of it in your wardrobe.”
-Katherine Theobalds

On this week’s show, Katherine shares more on how an array of circumstances led her to build out Zou Xou. Also, she explains some of the ways she and her team have had to get extra creative in their business throughout COVID-19.

Katherine also dives into more of what sensible shoes mean to her, and why she thinks this is an important way to build products — and in her case, shoes that you will build deep relationships with.

• Two Days Off, Kestrel and Katherine mention Gina and her brand — listen to the Conscious Chatter episode with Two Days Off here >

• “The last thing we want to do is promote mindless consumption — we don’t want someone to buy something because it’s inexpensive — we want them to buy it because they really love it and they’re going to wear it … you know, I am a reformed fast fashion shopper — I remember the times I would buy things just because they were on sale, not even because I liked it that much. And so that kind of affects our decision to not do too many markdowns as well — if we’re only producing what we’re sure we’ll sell, there’s no need to mark things down to get rid of them.” -Katherine

• Li Edelkoort, Katherine mentions her work as a trend forecaster and with “new materialism”

• Zou Xou Spring Collection Guide >

• Who Makes Zou Xou’s shoes >

• About Zou Xou >

• Follow Zou Xou on Instagram >

This week's episode is brought to you by OEKO-TEX® - a worldwide association of 18 independent research and test institutes that sets standards for safer textile and leather production and products. The OEKO-TEX® portfolio of independent certifications and product labels help all of us make responsible decisions to choose products that are safer, more environmentally friendly, and manufactured in a socially responsible way. 

Learn more about their labels at www.oeko-tex.com.