How Femme LA Became Hollywood’s Favorite New Stealthy Shoe Brand

Watch out, Christian Louboutin and Manolo Blahnik—a new shoe designer is taking over the red carpets. 

Over the past year, Hollywood A-listers have been hitting the step and repeats in discreet stilettos that aren’t your average Jimmy Choo heels (another recurring celebrity favorite). Instead, stars such as Hailey Bieber, Lori Harvey, Jennifer Lopez, and Sydney Sweeney are going in a more stealthy chic direction. They’re slipping into minimal, strappy styles from Femme LA—a new shoe brand that prides itself on being vegan and cruelty-free. 

Since 2018, founder Janis Tello has steadily built up her emerging footwear brand as one of the most-worn celebrity shoe brands of the moment (they are gaining popularity with regular consumers, too, as evidenced by their 115,000 followers on Instagram). Tello originally founded Femme LA as a clothing brand, but pivoted to footwear-only in 2019 after she saw an increasing consumer demand for their simple, single-sole heels. “I wasn’t really expecting anything,” Tello tells Vogue. “I couldn’t find [heels] that were minimalistic and could carry from season to season; I wanted to create designs that were timeless.”

The brand now specializes in sexy, unadorned stilettos that range from strappy Barely-There lace-up heels to Sicilian Slippers, a heeled mule frequently worn by Hailey Bieber. “Our minimal lace-up styles have been our bread and butter,” says Tello. “We’ve tapped into every colorway. Our Luce strappy heel has been with us since the beginning: It still gets bought and is constantly pulled [by stylists]—it’s one of our most popular styles.” All of the shoes are made with vegan leather. “We wanted to show that, hey, a vegan brand can walk the red carpet, and it doesn’t have to be a price point that’s $700 for a shoe,” says Tello, whose shoes retail—for the most part—under $200. “We want all types of life to be able to afford [shoes] that are made with vegan materials.”

Photo: Getty Images

While the price point is accessible, the brand’s celebrity following has played a huge role in making Femme LA’s heels an It shoe. Tello credits her label’s publicist, Pegauh Panah, for dialing up their star-studded dressing placements. “[Pegauh] basically started working with us for free, and within the first week, we had a Kylie Jenner placement,” says Tello. Together, the duo have focused their energy on building relationships with celebrity stylists, and they now count Lori Harvey, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Gal Gadot as frequent wearers of their footwear. “We don’t pay anybody: We don’t pay stylists or influencers,” says Tello. “But stylists pull from us, and we give them whatever they need—we cater to them.”

It’s impressive that a relatively new shoe brand is now competing with the Gianvito Rossis, Louboutins, and Manolos of the world. For Tello, however, she says her designs do stand apart from the pack. “They’re modern, minimalistic, and they’re also sexy,” she says. “Your feet look nice in them, and they don’t take away from your outfit—they complement it.” 

Her roster of celebrities is already quite full—but does the shoe designer have a dream client? “I love Zendaya and her style,” hints Tello. “And of course, we love Rihanna. I’m going to throw that one out in the universe—we’re manifesting it.”