Launching a shoe line in the middle of a pandemic—when most people’s day-to-day footwear was a pair of slippers—might not be your typical business approach, but Marina Larroudé isn’t your typical businesswoman. The Brazilian-born creative built her career in the fashion world as an editor whose job revolved around writing about and styling the latest trends—not dreaming them up.
After getting her start at Brazilian Vogue, Larroudé moved to New York City, where she landed at Style.com by chance (and a bit of strategizing). “I saw an invite in my [apartment] lobby for a Christian Dior show, and it was labeled for Candy Pratts Price,” Larroudé tells Observer. “I had no idea who she was, but I googled her and discovered that she was the fashion director at Style.com, so I sent her flowers, my resume [and] a cover letter.” Months later, Price invited her to the office for an interview. “I was offered a freelance spot for a two-week job, and I ended up staying for 10 years.” Larroudé climbed the ranks at Style.com to fashion director, and eventually left to join the Teen Vogue team as the fashion and accessories director, before Barneys came calling.
“I interviewed for that job for six months, and it was a dream come true when I got it,” Larroudé says. She was brought on as the famed New York department store’s fashion director, and for the next nearly three years, Larroudé was involved in everything from product development and marketing to designer discovery, until Barneys announced its closing at the end of 2019. Finding herself out of work during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic at the same time as her husband, Ricardo Larroudé, she decided to take a chance. Combining their expertise (hers in fashion and his in the financial sector), the Larroudés began to create their namesake shoe company, with the goal of giving women around the world a taste of the fashion insider status Larroudé had experienced firsthand for more than a decade.
“Through my entire time as a woman in the fashion industry, I felt that my friends wanted to be part of it, and wanted to consume the same fun fashion that I was able to get my hands on because I had a discount or could buy wholesale,” she explains. “And I saw that on the shoe floor at Barneys—women wanting to buy that pink Balenciaga boot but justifying it and saying, ‘It’s just so expensive, so I’ll get the black version.’” At the height of the pandemic, the duo got to work developing their product lineup: a mix of classic and playful shoes that range in price from about $150 to $600. They returned to their roots, too, deciding to manufacture the shoes in Brazil, where each pair is handmade by local expert craftspeople.
Larroudé officially launched in December 2020, and quickly proved itself to be a success. Racking up industry awards and a celebrity following including Dakota Johnson, Alicia Keys, Kacey Musgraves and Nicky Hilton, Larroudé has also boasted designer partnerships with Oscar de la Renta, Altuzarra and Markarian.
Always thinking outside the box, the luxury shoe label recently teamed up with Rosewood’s five-star St. Barth resort, Rosewood Le Guanahani, for a capsule collection made to take you straight from poolside cocktails to dining al fresco. “I used to stay at the Rosewood [Hôtel de Crillon] in Paris for work, and I got to know the company and see how each location has its own personality and really feels unique to the place where you are,” Larroudé says of her longtime admiration of the luxury hotel brand. “When the collaboration came together, we immediately knew we wanted to do the gold seashell motif with the lilacs and the blues you see at the Rosewood in St. Barth.”
The result is a collection of espadrilles and leather flats, sold online and on-site in the Rosewood Le Guanahani St. Barth boutique. In celebration of the collection, Observer spoke with Larroudé about all her current essentials—St. Barth must-haves included.
Morning skincare routine:
I live and breathe by Dr. Lara Devgan. I do all of her serums from the Superheroes Collection, which has a hyaluronic acid serum, a vitamin C serum, and a retinol and bakuchiol serum. And then I do her SPF 44 BB Cream, Peptide Eye Cream and her mascara—I use that mascara every day and I feel that I’m complete without wearing heavy makeup.
Her wellness routine:
I love a workout routine because it gives me so much energy to start the morning. When I’m in New York, I go to Tracy Anderson every day, five days a week. I wake up at 5:30 a.m., I do my Tracy class at 6 a.m. and then I get home, and I have an infrared sauna. The sauna was a present that my husband got for me for Christmas maybe six years ago, and I use it every day. I answer all of my emails doing my sauna, then I get ready and I go to the office to start my day.
NYC favorites:
Bar Pitti is my favorite restaurant, hands-down—that’s our family spot. There’s a KazuNori very close to us that I like for a quick sushi, and for date night, I really love to have drinks at the Carlyle [another Rosewood hotel]. I also love Sant Ambroeus ice cream. I’m usually a chocolate person in a cone, but I like that it’s not so creamy or heavy.
What she’s binge-watching:
Lately, I’m watching Palm Royale and The Girls on the Bus on HBO Max—they’re both very good.
Favorite vacation spot:
For an island vacation, St. Barth, for sure. We’ve already been twice this year, and what I love most is that you can have a very chill vacation where you’re just at the Rosewood [Le Guanahani] on the beach, or having a beautiful dinner at Bonito, or walking around in Gustavia and going to the French pharmacies. I would also go to Tokyo in a minute because it has so much energy and so much inspiration, from fashion to museums and gardens.
What she’s traveling with:
It really depends how many days I’m staying. If I’m going away for the weekend, then carry on, but otherwise, I’m going to pack all of my outfits and have the best time that I can. My computer and a pair of leggings are always in my Away suitcase, and if I’m going to a beach destination, I travel big: I take all of my sunscreens, all of my products. I love resort wear, so there’s always a hat, and so many bikinis.
The one thing in her wardrobe she refuses to part with:
So many things! Lately, I have a Prada denim jacket that I’ve been wearing every day shamelessly. But then I also have a dress that I wore to my rehearsal dinner when I was getting married that I still wear 20 years later. I am a collector in terms of, if I like something, then I’ll wear it forever and ever.
