Making shoes in five different heel heights, this Zimbabwean designer is making waves in Canada

Women have always wanted the luxury of wearing any shoe they want in any heel size they prefer but most of the time, the heel sizes are restrictive. Ropa Mupambwa aims to produce fashion staples such as her one shoe, five different heels under her fashion brand Celyn Roze to fill the gap.

The Zimbabwean native, who migrated to Canada at age 12, has always been drawn to fashion. Her first paid job, which was in retail at the mall, gave her the affirmation that fashion is what she should get into.

However, per her observations, all the fashion brands seem to follow fast fashion and were doing similar apparel and accessories. Ropa wanted to do something different.

“When I started selling clothes, I wanted my brand to be different. I wanted something unique and to solve a problem as well,” she told Daily Hive.

She founded Celyn Roze, a shoe and accessories brand in 2019 and named it after her biggest inspiration, her mother, who goes by the same name. Ropa credits her mother, who used to sew ready-to-wear outfits, and grandmother’s crocheting skills for her fashion sense.

“My mom has a sleek fashion background, and she did a little bit of tailoring back home,” she said. “She used to do ready-to-wear outfits and wedding dresses. She even made her own wedding dress.”

According to Ropa, she noticed that women do not have a lot of heel height options; flats, 3.5 cm, 6 cm, 9 cm, and 12 cm when it comes to the same shoe design. She took the initiative to fill that gap with her brand and make shoes in five heel options.

Celyn Roze has unique orange soles and comfortable cushion-like pads in every shoe to protect one’s heels without being limited in size options either. “I noticed that people would end up wearing the wrong heel height, or they just ended up not buying shoes because they don’t have the right heel height,” she said. I wanted to fill in the gap in this challenging day.”

Ropa believes women should be free and confident to embrace whatever heel height they want according to the various life cycles they go through as well. Women should be allowed to feel beautiful in any heel height they wear, she said, adding that she has a wide range of sizes, from size 5 to 13.

“People mostly buy heels to wear on special occasions and then display them after. That’s why I wanted to have the five heel heights, so you can wear your high heels and your flats, and all those other lower heels on your casual days.”

The first Celyn Roze brick and mortar location at Calgary’s Chinook Centre was opened during the pandemic and Ropa said it came with its own challenges. There were shipment delays and all the pop-up shops that never happened but in all this, Ropa admits she is excited to have people come to her store and get blown away by her designs.

For now, Celyn Roze has released two shoe styles on the market in all five heights, per Avenue Magazine. A black-patent shoe with a detailed buckle and another patent shoe in robin’s egg blue, which have different names depending on the heel size you choose. The brand also sells handbags that have made waves in the Canadian fashion scene as well.