Turning heel: Nicole Rebstock on pursuing her shoe designer dream

Thanks to her economist parents, including Dame Paula Rebtock, business had always been a topic around her dinner table growing up, offering inspiration for what she knew she wanted to do.

She ripped the Band-Aid off and professed her dream to become a shoe designer instead. Possibly to her surprise, there was nothing but support.

“I remember saying that I wanted to do this, and my mum was like, that’s wonderful. And I was like, oh, okay!”

Sole searching

It was during a mid-semester break when Rebstock got to work developing her own brand, sketching her first shoe that would later become her signature – the Nemesis.

“It wasn’t a good drawing, but it was just the important drawing.”

Rebstock knew her law and business conjoint degree would still be useful if she committed to this idea, so she continued her studies while getting involved with the industry in the first place she knew how – a shoe store.

After learning more about the industry first-hand, she knew she was ready to take the next step, finding someone to make her designs a reality.

Thankfully for her, one of her childhood friends was already running her own sleepwear business and had manufacturing connections in China, telling her it was the place to go.

But Rebstock didn’t have the business established, nor the understanding of how the process worked.

So she did what she could to get started, she emailed manufacturers in China.

“I crafted this email that I think made me sound more legit than I was, and I sent them to a whole bunch of manufacturers, thinking this is never going to amount to anything.”

“I woke up the next morning with all these responses.”

That’s when the real work began, organising shoe samples from factories to understand who could recreate her designs.

After narrowing it down to three options, Rebstock knew she had to go and meet them in person in China.

Through a stroke of luck, Rebstock formed a friendship while studying with Mandy, a fellow student who happened to live in Guangzhou – exactly where her potential manufacturers were based.

Mandy offered to let Rebstock stay with her and translate for her while she visited manufacturers, a connection Rebstock credits for getting her in the door.

Rebstock recalled unsuccessfully meeting two manufacturers and becoming disappointed and frustrated, critical of herself and questioning why she was even there at such a young age.

“What am I doing here? This is just, you know, it’s not, this is just a joke.

“I just don’t think I can go to this final meeting. What’s the point anyway? This is just not working.”

Thankfully with Mandy’s encouragement, Rebstock committed to one more meeting, and it paid off.

She found the manufacturer she was looking for, and now seven years later, she continues to work with them.

According to Rebstock, the manufacturers were a family-run business and offered her kindness from the start, even offering to pick her up from the airport when visiting.

“When manufacturers take you on they’re serious about it. So it was a very big deal for me, for them to take me on because you know they live in a different world.”

With her manufacturer locked in, Rebstock could start the complex process of making shoes that would one day fill her three Auckland and Christchurch stores.

“I think people don’t realise sometimes how complex it is making a shoe.”

“It’s not necessarily just about sort of the pretty designs, but the fit is everything, and for us, that’s something we put a great deal of emphasis on.”

First steps

Rebstock’s first store opened on Auckland’s High Street back in 2017, a tiny store of roughly 25 square metres. It meant she had to keep stock at her home piled up in the garage.

Now with stores in Auckland’s Commercial Bay and Newmarket, with another based in Christchurch, the business has grown dramatically.

With roughly 50 employees in the Guangzhou factory, the manufacturing operation is relatively small, with Rebstock explaining that each of the workers is specialised in their craft.

She explains that there are almost 200 processes that go into making a shoe by hand, from drawing and designing prototypes to stretching and stitching leather onto moulded shoes.

Rebstock designs everything the store sells, from traditional heels and pumps to trainers and slides. Her most expensive item is a pair of suede knee-high boots, retailing for over $500.

Of course, fast fashion continues to rise in popularity as concerns are raised about its environmental and social impacts, a majority of which is also developed in China.

Rebstock acknowledged the impacts of foreign-based fashion development but believed there were many variables involved that separated her handmade shoes from others.

“Sometimes where things can get lost in translation is that not everyone can afford to buy $300 shoes.”

“I think there is that dance between what is good for the economy, what is good for the environment, but also what people can afford,” pointing to the social pressures placed on those who can’t afford to pay premiums for clothing.

As for Rebstock’s handmade premium designs, she has a keen eye for classic European femininity, but with a “Nicole Rebstock” twist.

There is also a focus on shoes with longevity, not just in design but in function, something she describes as considered design.

Her icon is the Nemesis, a stiletto with specific consideration for the heel itself. Rebstock highlighted the way it sits quite far back on the shoe, as opposed to curving under, making for a much more modern look.

She believes that New Zealand shoes can be quite chunky, emphasising that Kiwis have particularly wide feet compared to the rest of the world, and need to be specifically accommodated.

With her name as the brand, it’s expected that Rebstock has full control of the designs, preferring for now to keep the responsibility with her.

Her flagship store is based in Newmarket in Auckland, but as the business has continued to grow in recent years, Rebstock tempered any talk of future expansion to other locations.

With a loyal customer base in New Zealand and online, she believes now is the time to consolidate her success.

As for what she puts her success down to, she believes it’s because of an obsession with perfection and continual improvement.

“Of course, I want the business to continue to grow, but I also now think having seen things for seven years, I also recognise that there’s balance to be had.”

Rebstock was hesitant when asked about what legacy she is going to leave behind in the fashion world, but knows her younger self would be proud of where she is now.

“I think I’m most proud of everything we’ve done. You know as I look at what we’re producing now, I don’t think I could have done that seven years ago.”

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business and retail.