Vaila Shoes, an inclusive footwear startup that creates luxurious and stylish shoes for women (sizes 9-14) to wear for the workplace and after-hours announced its first in-person launch at five Macy’s locations today.
The launch marks Vaila’s first entry into physical retail, taking the bustling e-commerce startup into the physical hands of its often underlooked consumer demographic.
Beyond curating style that is accessible to all, Vaila has engineered its shoes to cater toward extended sizes by providing features such as a thicker heel base, spacious toe boxes, and insoles that covers their consumers entire foot.
When the opportunity arose for Vaila to launch in Macy’s, the startup was only in business for six months. The Macy’s launch builds upon an impressive run for the one-year-old startup. Since founding the company in 2022, Vaila CEO, Ahriana Edwards has raised over $80,000 in non-dilutive funding since beginning her career as an entrepreneur.
“The Macy’s launch serves as a huge affirmation to Vaila’s existence and to my own personal experiences as a woman with an extended shoe size,” Vaila CEO, Ahriana Edwards, said. “I grew up shopping from brands who left my size out of the equation when creating footwear. Now, thanks to this launch, ladies with a larger size are finally able to enjoy an inclusive, in-person shoe shopping experience. It’s a dream come true to create a solution to a problem I too once faced.”
The intentionality behind the design caters toward women with extended shoe sizes and plus-sized women who often struggle to find shoes that are stylish, comfortable for the width/length of their feet.
Vaila’s launch into Macy’s includes a Spring and Summer collection to be sold at all-participating Macy’s locations and online.
“When I first heard about Vaila Shoes I was so impressed with how Ahriana came up with this amazing idea at such a young age, opening eyes to address a big need in the shoe business that the marketplace should have addressed earlier,” Grace Jacobson, Associate Shoe Buyer at Macy's said.
“Beyond that, having brands like Vaila’s at Macy’s coincides with our Mission Every One strategy making sure we can support the shopping needs of anyone regardless of their size, gender, race, special needs etc,” Jacobson continued. “I am so happy that we are able to support Vaila in-store and online. It is really important that we are able to allow our customers access to fashionable shoes regardless of their size.”
Starting today, Macy’s shoppers and consumers in the following cities can purchase Vaila Shoes in person: New York City (Hearld’s Square location), Atlanta (Lenox, Cumberland and Stonecrest malls) and D.C. (Pentagon City location).
The entire collection is also available on Macy’s website for shoppers with extended shoe sizes to enjoy no matter where they are.
Those interested in learning more about Vaila Shoes and supporting the brand can visit: https://www.vailashoes.com/